N.Y. Workers' Compensation Law § 49-bb: Waiting period; date of disablement; payment of compensation

§ 49-bb. Waiting period; date of disablement; payment of compensation.

Notwithstanding any other inconsistent provisions of this chapter,

compensation for occupational loss of hearing shall become due and

payable at the employee's choice three months after (1) removal from

exposure to harmful noise in employment (removal from exposure to

harmful noise in employment for the three month waiting period may be

achieved by use of effective ear protection devices provided at the

expense of the employer) or (2) separation from work for the last

employer in whose employment the employee was at anytime during such

employment exposed to harmful noise. The last day of such period of

removal from such exposure or of separation from such work shall be the

date of disablement. Such disablement shall be treated as the happening

of an accident within the meaning of this chapter and the procedure and

practice provided in the chapter shall apply to all proceedings as set

forth in this article except where specifically otherwise provided

herein. A claim for loss of hearing under this article shall not be

barred by the failure of the employee or the employee's dependents to

file a claim within the two year period prescribed by section

twenty-eight of this chapter, provided such claim shall be filed after

such two year period within ninety days after knowledge that the loss of

hearing is or was due to the nature of the employment. An employee whose

disablement and knowledge of disablement occurred prior to October

first, nineteen hundred eighty shall have six months from such date to

file a claim. The former average wage on which the compensation rate

payable shall be based shall be determined, as provided in sections

fourteen and fourteen-a of this chapter, by the wages earned by the

employee during the year prior to the employee's last day of work in the

last employment in which the employee was exposed to harmful noise.