N.Y. RSS Law § 607-B — New York Code / Act RSS / Article 15 / Section 607-B
Performance of duty disability retirement
Status: in_force

§ 607-b. Performance of duty disability retirement. a. Any member of\nthe New York city employees' retirement system who is employed by the\ncity of New York or by the New York city health and hospital corporation\nin the position of emergency medical technician or advanced emergency\nmedical technician, as those terms are defined in section three thousand\none of the public health law, who, on or after March seventeenth,\nnineteen hundred ninety-six, becomes physically or mentally\nincapacitated for the performance of duties as the natural and proximate\nresult of an injury, sustained in the performance or discharge of his or\nher duties shall be paid a performance of duty disability retirement\nallowance equal to three-quarters of final average salary, subject to\nsection 13-176 of the administrative code of the city of New York. Any\nmember who has made application or who, after the effective date of the\nchapter of the laws of two thousand four which amended this subdivision,\nmakes application for such performance of duty pension shall be entitled\nto invoke the medical review procedure provided for in subdivision e of\nsection six hundred five of this article, subject to the terms and\nconditions set forth in such subdivision.\n  b. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any general or\nspecial law to the contrary, a member covered by this section who\ncontracts HIV (where the member may have been exposed to a bodily fluid\nof a person under his or her care or treatment, or while the member\nexamined, transported or otherwise had contact with such person, in the\nperformance of his or her duties) tuberculosis or hepatitis, will be\npresumed to have contracted such disease in the performance or discharge\nof his or her duties, unless the contrary be proved by competent\nevidence.\n  c. 1. (a) Notwithstanding any provisions of this chapter or of any\ngeneral, special or local law, charter, administrative code or rule or\nregulation to the contrary, if any condition or impairment of health is\ncaused by a qualifying World Trade Center condition as defined in\nsection two of this chapter, it shall be presumptive evidence that it\nwas incurred in the performance and discharge of duty and the natural\nand proximate result of an accident not caused by such member's own\nwillful negligence, unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.\n  (b) the head of each retirement system is hereby authorized to\npromulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this\nparagraph.\n  2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter or of any\ngeneral, special or local law, charter, administrative code or rule or\nregulation to the contrary, if a member who participated in World Trade\nCenter rescue, recovery or cleanup operations as defined in section two\nof this chapter, and subsequently retired on a service retirement, an\nordinary disability retirement, a performance of duty disability\nretirement, or was separated from service with a vested right to\ndeferred payability of a retirement allowance, and subsequent to such\nretirement or separation is determined by the comptroller to have a\nqualifying World Trade Center condition, as defined in section two of\nthis chapter, upon such determination by the head of the retirement\nsystem, it shall be presumed that such disability was incurred in the\nperformance and discharge of duty as the natural and proximate result of\nan accident not caused by such member's own willful negligence, and that\nthe member would have been physically or mentally incapacitated for the\nperformance and discharge of duty of the position from which he or she\nretired had the condition been known and fully developed at the time of\nthe member's retirement, unless the contrary is proven by competent\nevidence.\n  (b) The head of the retirement system shall consider a\nreclassification of the member's retirement or vesting as an accidental\ndisability retirement effective as of the date of such reclassification.\n  (c) Such member's retirement option shall not be changed as a result\nof such reclassification.\n  (d) The member's former employer at the time of the member's\nretirement shall have an opportunity to be heard on the member's\napplication for reclassification by the NYCERS board of trustees\naccording to procedures developed by the NYCERS board of trustees.\n  (e) The head of each retirement system is hereby authorized to\npromulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this\nparagraph.\n  d. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or of any\ngeneral, special or local law, charter, administrative code or rule or\nregulation to the contrary, if a retiree or vestee who: (1) has met the\ncriteria of subdivision c of this section and retired on a service or\ndisability retirement, would have met the criteria if not already\nretired on an accidental disability, or was separated from service with\na vested right to deferred payability of a retirement allowance; and (2)\nhas not been retired for more than twenty-five years; and (3) dies from\na qualifying World Trade Center condition, as defined in section two of\nthis chapter, as determined by the applicable head of the retirement\nsystem or applicable medical board, then unless the contrary be proven\nby competent evidence, such retiree or vestee shall be deemed to have\ndied as a natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the\nperformance of duty and not as a result of willful negligence on his or\nher part. Such retiree's or vestee's eligible beneficiary, as set forth\nin section six hundred one of this article, shall be entitled to an\naccidental death benefit as provided by section six hundred seven of\nthis article, however, for the purposes of determining the salary base\nupon which the accidental death benefit is calculated, the retiree or\nvestee shall be deemed to have died on the date of his or her retirement\nor separation from service with vested rights. Upon the retiree's or\nvestee's death, the eligible beneficiary shall make a written\napplication to the head of the retirement system within the time for\nfiling an application for an accidental death benefit as set forth in\nsection six hundred seven of this article requesting conversion of such\nretiree's service, vested right or disability retirement benefit to an\naccidental death benefit. At the time of such conversion, the eligible\nbeneficiary shall relinquish all rights to the prospective benefits\npayable under the service or disability retirement benefit, or vested\nright to such benefit, including any post-retirement death benefits,\nsince the retiree's or vestee's death. If the eligible beneficiary is\nnot the only beneficiary receiving or entitled to receive a benefit\nunder the service or disability retirement benefit (including, but not\nlimited to, post-retirement death benefits or benefits paid or payable\npursuant to the retiree's option selection), or that will be eligible\nunder the vested right, the accidental death benefit payments to the\neligible beneficiary will be reduced by any amounts paid or payable to\nany other beneficiary.\n  e. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or of any\ngeneral, special or local law, charter, administrative code or rule or\nregulation to the contrary, if a member who: (1) has met the criteria of\nsubdivision c of this section; (2) dies in active service or after\nseparating from service with a vested right to deferred payability of a\nretirement allowance, but prior to the payability of that retirement\nallowance; and (3) dies from a qualifying World Trade Center condition,\nas defined in section two of this chapter, as determined by the\napplicable head of the retirement system or applicable medical board to\nhave been caused by such member's participation in the World Trade\nCenter rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, as defined in section two\nof this chapter, then unless the contrary be proven by competent\nevidence, such member shall be deemed to have died as a natural and\nproximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of duty and\nnot as a result of willful negligence on his or her part. Such member's\neligible beneficiary, as set forth in section six hundred one of this\narticle, shall be entitled to an accidental death benefit provided he or\nshe makes written application to the head of the retirement system\nwithin the time for filing an application for an accidental death\nbenefit as set forth in section six hundred seven of this article.\n