2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 5 - Powers, Limitations and Liabilities › 92-D - Sick Leave for Officers and Employees With a Qualifying World Trade Center Condition.

§  92-d. Sick leave for officers and employees with a qualifying World
Trade Center condition. 1.(a) Notwithstanding any  other  law,  rule  or
regulation  to  the  contrary,  officers  and  employees of the state, a
public authority or any municipal corporation outside of a city  with  a
population  of  one million or more who have filed and received approval
for such filed notice of participation in  World  Trade  Center  rescue,
recovery  or  cleanup  operations  or  was  a participant in World Trade
Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations as such term  is  defined
in  section  one hundred sixty-one of the workers' compensation law, who
does not have such filed and approved notice of  participation  and  has
filed  a  notice of participation under section one hundred sixty-two of
the workers' compensation law and is now employed by the state, a public
authority, or any municipal corporation, and  subsequently  developed  a
qualifying  World  Trade  Center condition, as defined in section two of
the retirement and social security law, shall, after the  receipt  of  a
written  request  for  line  of duty sick leave, be granted line of duty
sick leave commencing on the date that such employee was diagnosed  with
a  qualifying  World  Trade  Center condition regardless of whether such
officer or employee was employed by his or her current employer  at  the
time  that  such  officer or employee participated in World Trade Center
rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. The officer or employee shall be
compensated at his or her regular rate of pay  for  those  regular  work
hours  during  which  the officer or employee is absent from work due to
his or her qualifying World Trade Center condition. Such leave shall  be
provided without loss of an officer or employee's accrued sick leave.
(b)  A  public  employer  shall  not take any adverse personnel action
against a public employee regarding the  employee's  employment  because
either  (i) the employee utilizes, or requests to utilize, sick leave or
any other available  leave  due  to  a  qualifying  World  Trade  Center
condition,  as such term is defined in section two of the retirement and
social security law, or  (ii)  the  employee  utilizes  or  requests  to
utilize line of duty sick leave provided by this section.
(c)  For purposes of this section, an "adverse personnel action" means
any discipline, including issuing a  notice  of  discipline,  discharge,
suspension,   demotion,   penalization,  or  discrimination  against  an
employee utilizing line of duty sick leave pursuant to paragraph (a)  of
this subdivision.
Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be deemed to diminish or impair the
rights of a public employee or employer under any law, rule,  regulation
or collectively negotiated agreement or to prohibit any personnel action
which  otherwise would have been taken regardless of any request to use,
or utilization of, any sick leave or other  available  leave  due  to  a
qualifying   World   Trade  Center  condition  or  request  to  use,  or
utilization of, any line of duty sick leave provided by this section.
2.(a) Notwithstanding  any  other  law,  rule  or  regulation  to  the
contrary,  officers  and  employees  of  a city with a population of one
million or more who  (i)  do  not  receive  benefits  similar  to  those
provided by this section pursuant to a collectively bargained agreement,
section  14-122.1  of  the  administrative code of the city of New York,
section 15-108.1 of the administrative code of the city of New York,  or
other  statutory provision and (ii) have filed and received approval for
such filed  notice  of  participation  in  World  Trade  Center  rescue,
recovery  or  cleanup  operations  or  was  a participant in World Trade
Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations as such term  is  defined
in  section  one hundred sixty-one of the workers' compensation law, who
does not have such filed and approved notice of  participation  and  has
filed  a  notice of participation under section one hundred sixty-two of
the workers' compensation law and is now employed by the state, a public

authority, or any municipal corporation, and  subsequently  developed  a
qualifying  World  Trade  Center condition, as defined in section two of
the retirement and social  security  law,  shall,  after  receipt  of  a
written  request  for  line  of duty sick leave, be granted line of duty
sick leave commencing on the date that such employee was diagnosed  with
a  qualifying  World  Trade  Center condition regardless of whether such
officer or employee was employed by his or her current employer  at  the
time  that  such  officer or employee participated in World Trade Center
rescue, recovery or cleanup operations. The officer or employee shall be
compensated at his or her regular rate of pay  for  those  regular  work
hours  during  which  the officer or employee is absent from work due to
his or her qualifying World Trade Center condition. Such leave shall  be
provided without loss of an officer or employee's accrued sick leave.
(b)  A  public  employer  shall  not take any adverse personnel action
against a public employee regarding the  employee's  employment  because
either  (i) the employee utilizes, or requests to utilize, sick leave or
any other available  leave  due  to  a  qualifying  World  Trade  Center
condition,  as such term is defined in section two of the retirement and
social security law, or  (ii)  the  employee  utilizes  or  requests  to
utilize line of duty sick leave provided by this section.
(c)  For purposes of this section, an "adverse personnel action" means
any discipline, including issuing a  notice  of  discipline,  discharge,
suspension,   demotion,   penalization,  or  discrimination  against  an
employee utilizing line of duty sick leave pursuant to  subdivision  one
of this section.
Nothing  in  this  section  shall  be deemed to diminish or impair the
rights of a public employee or employer under any law, rule,  regulation
or collectively negotiated agreement or to prohibit any personnel action
which  otherwise would have been taken regardless of any request to use,
or utilization of, any sick leave or other  available  leave  due  to  a
qualifying   World   Trade  Center  condition  or  request  to  use,  or
utilization of, any line of duty sick leave provided by this section.
3. For purposes of this section, "cost" shall mean the number of  days
of  sick  leave that must be restored to an officer or employee pursuant
to subdivision one or two of this section multiplied by such officer  or
employee's  wage  rate  at  the  time  that  such  sick  leave for which
reimbursement is being sought was taken.
4. A request, for line of duty sick leave  shall  be  in  writing  and
include  a  waiver of the protection afforded to the officer or employee
pursuant to the health insurance portability and accountability  act  to
allow  disclosure  of  the  officer  or  employee's  approved  notice of
participation  and  any  medical  records  concerning  such  officer  or
employee's  notice  of  participation  or  qualifying World Trade Center
condition in  the  possession  of  the  retirement  system  or  workers'
compensation board in which such officer or employee is a member for the
purpose  of reviewing, processing and auditing his or her claim for line
of duty sick leave. Such waiver shall be in the  form  required  by  the
retirement  system  of  which  he  or  she  is  a member or the workers'
compensation board, along with the application for  line  of  duty  sick
leave, with his or her employer.
5.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon request
from the state, public authority or municipal corporation other  than  a
city  with a population of one million or more for a copy of an approved
notice of participation  in  World  Trade  Center  rescue,  recovery  or
cleanup  operations for an officer or employee, the retirement system in
which such officer or employee is a member and to which such officer  or
employee  filed his or her notice of participation in World Trade Center
rescue, recovery or cleanup operations in accordance with paragraph  (a)

of  subdivision  thirty-six  of section two of the retirement and social
security law, such retirement system shall provide a  verified  copy  of
such  approved  notice of participation that includes the date that such
notice  was  filed  to such requestor. A copy of such verified notice of
participation shall be filed with any claim for reimbursement  submitted
to  the  civil  service  department pursuant to subdivision four of this
section. Except as required for filing, review, and audit purposes, such
verified notice of participation and all copies of such verified  notice
shall  be confidential and not subject to disclosure pursuant to article
six of the public officers law.
6. A public authority or municipal corporation other than a city  with
a  population  of  one  million  or  more  shall  submit  any  claim for
reimbursement under this section to the  civil  service  department.  In
accordance  with subdivision eight of section seven of the civil service
law, the civil service department shall review each claim  to  determine
if  such claim shall be approved, reduced, amended or rejected and shall
notify the submitting public authority or municipal corporation,  within
sixty  days  of  receipt  of  such  claim, as to its determination. Such
public authority or municipal corporation shall notify the civil service
department within  thirty  days  after  receipt  of  the  civil  service
department's  notification,  as  to  its acceptance or rejection of such
determination. Failure to so notify the civil service  department  shall
constitute  an  acceptance  of  the  determination.  If accepted by such
public  authority  or  municipal  corporation,  such  acceptance   shall
constitute  the  final  and  conclusive  determination  for  such claim.
Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, there shall be no  appeal
of  such  determination  to the civil service commission. If rejected by
such public authority or municipal corporation, such public authority or
municipal corporation may commence an  action  in  accordance  with  the
provisions of article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
7.  The  civil service department shall certify all claims for which a
final determination has been made. The civil  service  department  shall
submit  all  certified  claims for payment on or before the first day of
the immediately succeeding month during which such claim was certified.
8. All claims certified by the civil service department shall be  paid
monthly.