NY Ret & SS L § 507-B (2021)
2021 New York Laws RSS - Retirement and Social Security Article 14 - Coordinated-Escalator Retirement Plan 507-B - Performance of Duty Disability Retirement.

§  507-b.  Performance of duty disability retirement. a. Any member in the uniformed personnel in institutions under the  jurisdiction  of  the department  of  corrections  and  community  supervision  or  a security hospital treatment assistant, as those terms are defined in  subdivision i  of  section  eighty-nine  of  this chapter, who becomes physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of duties as the natural  and proximate result of an injury, sustained in the performance or discharge of his or her duties by, or as a natural and proximate result of, an act of  any incarcerated individual or any person confined in an institution under the jurisdiction of the department of  corrections  and  community supervision  or  office  of mental health, or by any person who has been committed to such institution by any court shall be paid  a  performance of  duty disability retirement allowance equal to that which is provided in section sixty-three of this chapter, subject  to  the  provisions  of section sixty-four of this chapter.   b.  Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any general or special law to the contrary,  a  member  covered  by  this  section  who contracts  HIV  (where there may have been an exposure to a bodily fluid of an incarcerated individual or a person described in subdivision a  of this  section  as  a  natural  and  proximate  result  of  an act of any incarcerated individual or person described in such subdivision  a  that may have involved transmission of a specified transmissible disease from an  incarcerated individual or such person described in such subdivision a to the retirement system member), tuberculosis or  hepatitis  will  be presumed to have contracted such disease in the performance or discharge of  his  or  her  duties,  and  will be presumed to be disabled from the performance of his or her duties,  unless  the  contrary  be  proved  by competent evidence.   c.  Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any general or special law to the contrary,  any  condition  of  impairment  of  health caused  by  diseases of the heart, resulting in disability or death to a member covered by this section, presently employed and  who  shall  have sustained  such  disability while so employed, who successfully passed a physical examination on entry into service as a  correction  officer  or security  hospital  treatment  assistant,  which  examination  failed to disclose evidence of any disease or other impairment of the heart, shall be presumptive evidence that it was  incurred  in  the  performance  and discharge of duty, unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.   d.  1.  (a)  Notwithstanding  any provisions of this chapter or of any general, special or local law, charter, administrative code or  rule  or regulation  to the contrary, if any condition or impairment of health is caused by a qualifying  World  Trade  Center  condition  as  defined  in section  two  of  this chapter, it shall be presumptive evidence that it was incurred in the performance and discharge of duty  and  the  natural and  proximate  result  of  an  accident not caused by such member's own willful negligence, unless the contrary be proved by competent evidence.  (b) The comptroller is  hereby  authorized  to  promulgate  rules  and regulations to implement the provisions of this paragraph.   2.  (a)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this  chapter or of any general, special or local law, charter, administrative code or  rule  or regulation  to the contrary, if a member who participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, as defined in section two of this chapter, and subsequently retired on a  service  retirement,  an ordinary  disability  retirement  or  a  performance  of duty disability retirement and subsequent  to  such  retirement  is  determined  by  the comptroller  to  have  a  qualifying  World  Trade  Center condition, as defined in section two of this chapter, upon such determination  by  the comptroller  it  shall  be presumed that such disability was incurred in  the performance and discharge of  duty  as  the  natural  and  proximate result   of  an  accident  not  caused  by  such  member's  own  willful negligence, and that the member would have been physically  or  mentally incapacitated  for the performance and discharge of duty of the position from which he or she retired had the  condition  been  known  and  fully developed at the time of the member's retirement, unless the contrary is proven by competent evidence.  (b)  The comptroller shall consider a reclassification of the member's retirement as an accidental disability retirement effective  as  of  the date of such reclassification.  (c)  Such  member's retirement option shall not be changed as a result of such reclassification.  (d)  The  member's  former  employer  at  the  time  of  the  member's retirement  shall  have  an  opportunity  to  be  heard  on the member's application  for  reclassification  by  the  comptroller  according   to procedures developed by the comptroller.  (e)  The  comptroller  is  hereby  authorized  to promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this paragraph.   e. Notwithstanding any other provision  of  this  chapter  or  of  any general,  special  or local law, charter, administrative code or rule or regulation to the contrary, if a retiree who:   1. has met the criteria of subdivision d of this section  and  retired on a service or disability retirement, or would have met the criteria if not already retired on an accidental disability; and   2. has not been retired for more than twenty-five years; and   3.  dies from a qualifying World Trade Center condition, as defined in section two of this chapter, as determined by the applicable head of the retirement system or applicable medical board, then unless the  contrary be  proven  by  competent evidence, such retiree shall be deemed to have died as a natural and proximate result of an accident sustained  in  the performance  of duty and not as a result of willful negligence on his or her part. Such retiree's eligible beneficiary, as set forth  in  section five  hundred  one  of  this article, shall be entitled to an accidental death benefit as provided by section five hundred nine of this  article, however,  for the purposes of determining the salary base upon which the accidental death benefit is calculated, the retiree shall be  deemed  to have  died  on  the  date  of  his or her retirement. Upon the retiree's death, the eligible beneficiary shall make a written application to  the head  of the retirement system within the time for filing an application for an accidental death benefit as set forth  in  section  five  hundred nine  of this article requesting conversion of such retiree's service or disability retirement benefit to an accidental  death  benefit.  At  the time  of  such conversion, the eligible beneficiary shall relinquish all rights  to  the  prospective  benefits  payable  under  the  service  or disability  retirement  benefit,  including  any  post-retirement  death benefits, since the retiree's death. If the eligible beneficiary is  not the  only  beneficiary  receiving or entitled to receive a benefit under the service or disability retirement benefit (including, but not limited to, post-retirement death benefits or benefits paid or payable  pursuant to  the  retiree's  option  selection),  the  accidental  death  benefit payments to the eligible beneficiary shall be  reduced  by  any  amounts paid or payable to any other beneficiary.   f.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of  this chapter or of any general, special or local law, charter, administrative code or  rule  or regulation to the contrary, if a member who: (1) has met the criteria of subdivision  d  of  this  section; and (2) dies in active service from a qualifying World Trade Center condition as defined  in  section  two  of this  chapter,  as  determined  by the applicable head of the retirement  system or applicable medical board, then unless the contrary  be  proven by  competent  evidence,  such  member shall be deemed to have died as a natural and proximate result of an accident sustained in the performance of  duty  and  not as a result of willful negligence on his or her part. Such member's eligible beneficiary, as set forth in section five hundred one of this article, shall be entitled to an  accidental  death  benefit provided  he  or  she  makes  written  application  to  the  head of the retirement system within the time  for  filing  an  application  for  an accidental  death  benefit  as set forth in section five hundred nine of this article.