Workers' Compensation law §15(3)(x), enacted as part of the 2017 executive budget, called upon the Board to implement new Permanency Impairment Guidelines for Scheduled Loss of Use (SLU) evaluations, with an effective date of January 1, 2018. The Board is pleased to announce that SLU Guidelines have been adopted, and are available on the Board's website. The enabling regulation is set forth at 12 NYCRR 325-1.6, and is also available at the Board's website. The Board is appreciative of the many thoughtful comments received during the initial public comment period and the subsequent public comment period.

The 2018 SLU Guidelines will replace chapters in the existing 2012 Medical Impairment Guidelines with respect to SLU, and will take effect January 1, 2018. The 2012 Guidelines remain unchanged for determining non-schedule permanent impairments. For SLU claims that have at least one examination conducted before January 1, 2018, the Board will consider the issue of SLU to have been joined under the auspices of the Guidelines in effect at the time, and as such the Board will determine the claimant's degree of permanent disability using the 2012 Guidelines. Where the first medical evaluation of SLU occurs on or after January 1, 2018, the question of SLU will be evaluated under the 2018 SLU Guidelines.