This article is part of our continued investigation into the NISA club, New Amsterdam FC, and its owner Laurence Girard. For more information in previous articles, consider checking out this article or this one.

All for-profit employers in New York state must carry worker’s compensation insurance to cover all their employees. While the business entity that operated the NISA club, New Amsterdam FC, is incorporated in Delaware, the team itself is based in New York.

According to the website of the New York Workers’ Compensation Board, New Amsterdam FC has not had continuous workers’ compensation coverage during their entire time in operation.

As noted in the above season, the company’s first policy ran from December 3, 2020 through August 3, 2021 and was ended due to cancellation. That brings up a number of questions.

The team announced their first signing, Martin Williams, on July 3, 2020. The team also announced their first coach, Erik Wynalda, on July 30 who resigned 18 days later. The team’s first scrimmage was on July 16, 2020 against Clifton Elite FC in Clifton, N.J. Two days later the team played another scrimmage against Santa Fe NY at Randalls Island in New York City. Two more scrimmages were held in July.

In August of 2020, New Amsterdam played in three NISA Independent Cup matches. One in Warwick, N.Y. at the Hudson Sports Complex against the New York Cosmos, one in Leesburg, Va. against FC Baltimore Christos and one in Wayne, Pa. against Maryland Bobcats FC. New Amsterdam and the New York Cosmos were both new members of the NISA Division III professional league starting that fall season..

New Amsterdam FC’s NISA league season began on August 21, 2020 again against New York Cosmos at Warwick, N.Y. That match saw the owner of New Amsterdam FC, Laurence Girard, subbed into the match after halftime as goalkeeper. New Amsterdam FC played three more regular season matches and three playoff matches through September 27, 2020.

The professional team entered its offseason at that point but New Amsterdam would have likely continued to have retained some front office staff. In addition, the club also runs youth soccer programs year round which, again, would have likely needed staff.

The Workers’ Compensation Board shows no coverage from the start of the New Amsterdam organization through its play in the 2021 NISA Fall season. The first policy begins during the pro league offseason on December 3, 2020 and runs through August 3, 2021.

A workers’ compensation claim was filed in December of 2021 by the Workers’ Compensation Board against New Amsterdam FC PBC.

Court documents show that New Amsterdam was found to be in non-compliance for the period of September 30, 2020 through December 2, 2020 and ordered to pay $6,000. New Amsterdam never paid that amount and the New York County Supreme Court rendered judgment on December 13, 2021 that New Amsterdam had defaulted on that payment.

New Amsterdam’s first policy covered the team’s NISA professional league spring 2021 season. Preseason matches for New Amsterdam began on March 11, 2021 and ran through April 3, 2021. The NISA league schedule began for New Amsterdam on April 16, 2021 and ended on June 19, 2021.

New Amsterdam also took part in the 2021 NISA Independent Cup with matches on July 24, July 28 and July 31, 2021. According to the New York Workers’ Compensation Board website the club’s policy was canceled just three days later.

The 2021 fall season of the NISA professional league began almost immediately after that. New Amsterdam FC hosted Los Angeles Force at Hofstra Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. on August 7. Following that, New Amsterdam played five more league matches on August 14, 21 and 28, and September 4 and 11.

The New York Workers’ Compensation Board website shows that New Amsterdam had no workers’ compensation coverage during the period of time following the NISA Independent Cup through the team’s first six NISA league matches.

The company began a new policy which started September 14, 2021. Three days after New Amsterdam’s 2-1 loss to Detroit City FC at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck, Mich, and one day before the team was due to host Stumptown AC at Hofstra Stadium.

That match on September 15, 2021 also saw the owner of New Amsterdam FC, Laurence Girard, start as the goalkeeper for his club - his first match as a player since the team’s very first league match on August 31, 2020. It was widely reported that Girard was called into service as goalkeeper, first as backup then as starter, due to numerous injuries to the team’s other goalkeepers. Girard played one more match as a player during the fall 2021 NISA season. The team’s last match prior to the offseason was on November 21, 2021 at Hofstra Stadium against 1904 FC of San Diego.

According to the New York Workers’ Compensation Board website the policy beginning September 14, 2021 is still current.

A search of Fruit Street Health PBC, Laurence Girard’s other company which is New Amsterdam FC’s primary sponsor and one of its investors, shows that Fruit Street carried two workers’ compensation policies during parts of 2020 and 2021.

While Fruit Street has had regular coverage and yearly renewals starting March 30, 2015, it added a second policy beginning May 16, 2020 that ran through October 1, 2020. This was the time in which the New Amsterdam FC team began its operations in April 2020 and, as noted above, played matches that July through September. The renewal which began October 1, 2020 was canceled on June 11, 2021, the same day as New Amsterdam’s final home match of the spring 2021 NISA season. The team would end that season with two away games on June 16 and June 19 in California.

In addition, Fruit Street’s only disability and paid family league policy was entered on that May 16, 2020 date. That policy was ended on August 4, 2021, the day after New Amsterdam FC canceled their first workers’ compensation policy, with a reason given as “Other”.

- Dan Creel