Matter of Passero v. Uninsured Employers' Fund
The claimant, Edmund Passero, a bricklayer, filed a workers' compensation claim in 2011 for an occupational disease resulting from repetitive stress. A Workers' Compensation Law Judge (WCLJ) initially established the claim against DeSpirit Mosaic & Marble Co. and later apportioned liability among three employers, including J. William Pustelak Inc., found to be uninsured. The Uninsured Employers' Fund (UEF) sought administrative review, but the Workers' Compensation Board denied the appeal as untimely. The Appellate Division, Third Department, reversed the Board's finding on the timeliness of UEF's application, holding that UEF would not have incurred an obligation until the WCLJ's December 2014 decision which apportioned liability. The case was remitted to the Workers' Compensation Board to consider the merits of UEF's appeal.