NY Ret & SS L § 605-B (2021)
2021 New York Laws RSS - Retirement and Social Security Article 15 - Coordinated Retirement Plan 605-B - Accidental Disability Retirement for New York City Uniformed Sanitation Members.

* §   605-b.  Accidental  disability  retirement  for  New  York  city uniformed sanitation members. a. Definitions.  The  following  terms  as used  in  this  section  shall  have  the  following  meanings  unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context:   1. "New York city uniformed sanitation member" shall mean a member (as defined in subdivision e of section six hundred one of this article)  of NYCERS  who  is  a  member  of  the uniformed force of the New York city department of sanitation.   2. "NYCERS" shall mean the New York city employees' retirement system.   3. "Eligible prior uniformed sanitation disability retiree" shall mean a person who retired for disability as a NYCERS member and as  a  member of  the  uniformed  force  of the New York city department of sanitation pursuant to section five hundred seven  or  six  hundred  five  of  this chapter,  with  an  effective  date  of  retirement on or after November first, nineteen hundred eighty-two, and prior to the effective  date  of this section.   b. 1. A New York city uniformed sanitation member who, on or after the effective date of this section, is determined by NYCERS to be physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of duty as the natural and proximate  result  of  an accident, not caused by his or her own willful negligence, sustained in the performance of  such  uniformed  sanitation service  while  actually  a  member  of  NYCERS  shall  be  retired  for accidental disability. Such retirement shall be effective as of the date approved by the board of trustees of NYCERS.   2. Except as provided in  paragraph  one  of  subdivision  c  of  this section,  applications  for accidental disability retirement may be made not later than two years after the occurrence of the accident upon which the application is based. Such application may be made by:  (a) a New York city uniformed sanitation member;  (b) the commissioner of the New York city department of sanitation; or  (c) any person acting on behalf of and authorized by such member.   3.  NYCERS  shall  process  applications  for  accidental   disability retirement  pursuant  to  this section in accordance with the applicable statutory provisions and the rules and regulations of NYCERS  pertaining generally  to  the  processing  of  disability  retirement applications. Unless inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the  provisions of  section  13-169  of the administrative code of the city of New York, relating to medical review procedures, and section 13-171 of such  code, relating  to safeguards on disability retirement, shall be applicable to accidental disability retirements pursuant to this section. The board of trustees  of  NYCERS  shall  have  the  authority  to  adopt  rules  and regulations for the purposes of implementing this section.   4.  Subject  to the provisions of section 13-176 of the administrative code of the city of New York, the annual retirement allowance payable to accidental disability retirees pursuant to  this  section  shall  be  an amount equal to three-quarters of the member's final average salary. The retirement  allowance  payable pursuant to this section shall be in lieu of any other disability retirement  allowance  which  may  otherwise  be payable by NYCERS.   c.  1.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of paragraphs one and two of subdivision b of this section or any  other  provision  of  law  to  the contrary, any eligible prior uniformed sanitation disability retiree (as defined  in  paragraph  three of subdivision a of this section) shall be eligible to apply  for  accidental  disability  retirement  pursuant  to subdivision  b of this section either (a) if the member is vested and is incapacitated as the result of a qualifying World Trade Center condition as defined in  section  two  of  this  chapter,  or  (b)  by  filing  an  application  with  NYCERS  within one year of the effective date of this section.   2.  Any  eligible  prior  uniformed  sanitation disability retiree who files a timely application for accidental disability retirement pursuant to paragraph one  of  this  subdivision,  and  who  retired  either  for disability  pursuant  to  section  six hundred five of this article with less than ten years of credited service, or  for  accidental  disability pursuant to section five hundred seven of this chapter, shall be granted accidental  disability  retirement benefits pursuant to subdivision b of this section, with payability of those benefits to begin on the  earlier of  (a) January first, two thousand five, or (b) a date certified as the payability date  for  all  persons  entitled  to  accidental  disability retirement  benefits pursuant to this subdivision by the commissioner of labor relations for the city of New York in a letter  to  the  executive director of NYCERS.   3.  Any  eligible  prior  uniformed  sanitation disability retiree who files a timely application for accidental disability retirement pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision, and  who  retired  for  disability pursuant  to  section  six hundred five of this article with ten or more years of credited service, shall  have  that  application  processed  in accordance with the applicable provisions which govern the processing of accidental   disability   retirement   applications  filed  pursuant  to subdivision b of this section by or on behalf of active  New  York  city uniformed  sanitation  members  of  NYCERS.  NYCERS  shall  use its best efforts to make its determinations  on  such  applications  as  soon  as practicable.  Where  NYCERS  determines  that  any  such prior uniformed sanitation disability  retiree  is  entitled  to  accidental  disability retirement   benefits   pursuant  to  subdivision  b  of  this  section, payability of those benefits shall begin on the earlier of  (a)  January first, two thousand five, or (b) a date certified as the payability date for  all  persons  entitled to accidental disability retirement benefits pursuant to this subdivision by the commissioner of labor relations  for the city of New York in a letter to the executive director of NYCERS.   4.  The accidental disability retirement allowance payable pursuant to this section to  any  eligible  prior  uniformed  sanitation  disability retiree  determined by NYCERS to be entitled to such benefit shall be in lieu of any other disability retirement benefit which  such  member  may have  been receiving or entitled to receive from NYCERS. Any such person who was receiving disability retirement benefits from NYCERS pursuant to any statutory provision  other  than  this  section  shall  continue  to receive  payment of such benefits until accidental disability retirement benefits become payable pursuant to this section on the applicable  date specified  in paragraphs two and three of this subdivision. On and after such date he or she shall no longer be entitled  to  receive  disability benefits from NYCERS pursuant to such other statutory provisions.   5.  Any  eligible  prior  uniformed  sanitation disability retiree who becomes entitled to accidental disability retirement  benefits  pursuant to  this  section  shall have the same method of payment applied to such benefits as was applicable to the disability retirement benefits  he  or she  was  receiving  from NYCERS pursuant to a statutory provision other than this section, and such person shall not be permitted to change such method of payment from the maximum retirement allowance to an option  or from  the option selected previously to another option or to the maximum retirement allowance.   6. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, for the purposes  of  calculating  the  cost-of-living  adjustment   which   may otherwise   become   payable   pursuant   to   section   13-696  of  the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York  to  an  eligible  prior  uniformed  sanitation  disability  retiree  for any period of time after such  person  has  begun  receiving  accidental  disability   retirement benefits pursuant to this section, the year of retirement of such person shall be deemed to be the year in which he or she retired for disability pursuant  to  section  five  hundred  seven  or six hundred five of this chapter, as the case may be.   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  head  of  the  retirement  system  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,  a  performance  of  duty  disability retirement, or was  separated  from  service  with  a  vested  right  to deferred  payability  of  a  retirement allowance and subsequent to such retirement or  separation  which  is  determined  by  the  head  of  the retirement  system to have a qualifying World Trade Center condition, as defined in section two of this chapter, upon such determination  by  the head  of the retirement system 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  head   of   the   retirement   system   shall   consider   a reclassification  of the member's retirement or vesting 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 head of the retirement system according to procedures developed by the head of the retirement system.  (e) The  head  of  the  retirement  system  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 or vestee who: (1) has met  the criteria  of  subdivision  d of this section and retired on a service or disability retirement, would  have  met  the  criteria  if  not  already retired  on an accidental disability, or was separated from service with a vested right to deferred payability of a retirement allowance; 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 or vestee 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 or vestee's eligible beneficiary, as set  forth in  section  six  hundred  one  of this article, shall be entitled to an accidental death benefit as provided by section  six  hundred  seven  of this  article,  however, for the purposes of determining the salary base upon which the accidental death benefit is calculated,  the  retiree  or vestee shall be deemed to have died on the date of his or her retirement or  separation  from  service  with vested rights. Upon the retiree's or vestee'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  six hundred seven of this article requesting conversion of such retiree's or vestee'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, or vested right to such benefit, including  any  post-retirement  death  benefits, since  the  retiree's  or vestee'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), or that will be eligible under the vested right, the accidental death  benefit  payments  to  the eligible  beneficiary  will 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; (2)  dies  in  active  service  or  after separating  from service with a vested right to deferred payability of a retirement allowance, but prior to the  payability  of  that  retirement allowance;  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 to have been caused by such  member's  participation  in  the  World  Trade Center rescue, recovery or cleanup operations, as defined in section two of  this  chapter,  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 six 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 six hundred seven of this article.   * NB There are 2 § 605-b's