Starting on Jan. 1, 2025, Workers’ Compensation Law §10(3)(b) has been amended, by A5745, to permit all "worker[s to] file[] claim[s] for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress incurred at work."

Previously, workers’ compensation for mental injury premised upon extraordinary work-related stress was limited to only such stress that occurred “in a work-related emergency” where such benefits were only available to “police officer or firefighter subject to section thirty of this article, or emergency medical technician, paramedic, or other person certified to provide medical care in emergencies, or emergency dispatcher,” not all workers.

Now that workers’ compensation benefits for all extraordinary work-related stress is available to all workers, the question arises of the impact of a worker filing, under §10(3)(b), if such worker also plans to bring a discrimination case under Title VII and/or Executive Law §296 (New York State Human Rights Law) against their employer, where discrimination is typically a major cause of extraordinary work-related stress.