West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 162 - Consolidated Public Retirement Board › Title 162 - LEGISLATIVE RULE CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC RETIREMENT BOARD › Series 162-10 - Deputy Sheriff Retirement System › Section 162-10-3 - Disability Applications and Petitions; Eligibility

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
3.1. A member of the Deputy Sheriff
				Retirement System, or a person acting with legal authority on behalf of the
				member, who remains in covered employment, may file a disability retirement
				application with the Board whenever the member has reason to believe that he or
				she is no longer physically or mentally capable of performing the essential
				duties of a law enforcement officer. Application shall be made on forms
				approved by the Board, and the member shall cause a copy of the application to
				be served upon the Sheriff at the time of its filing with the Board.
3.2. If the Sheriff has reason to believe
				that a member is no longer physically or mentally capable of performing the
				essential duties of a law enforcement officer, and if the member has failed or
				refused to file an application for disability retirement, the Sheriff may file
				a petition with the Board seeking the disability retirement of the member. The
				Sheriffs petition shall be made on forms approved by the Board, and a copy of
				the petition shall be served by the Sheriff upon the member at the time of the
				filing of the petition with the Board. The cost of the treating physician's
				examination, when requested by the Sheriff, shall be at the Sheriffs expense.
				The member shall cooperate fully with the Board in the scheduling of the
				examinations, and shall appear at the time and place for scheduled examinations
				as requested by the Board. The Board shall provide advance notice to the member
				that if he or she fails to appear at the time and place for scheduled
				examinations requested by the Board, he or she may be held responsible for some
				or all fees charged by the physician's office for that scheduled
				exam.
3.3. Once a member has
				commenced to receive a retirement benefit from the Deputy Sheriff Retirement
				System, the retired member is no longer eligible to apply for disability
				retirement benefits, unless he or she proves to the Board, by clear and
				convincing evidence, that his or her alleged disability is a direct and
				proximate result of an injury or illness sustained in the line of duty. If more
				than five years have passed since the time a member has commenced regular
				retirement on the basis of age and service, there shall be a rebuttable
				presumption that the retired member's illness or injury is not directly and
				proximately related to his or her duties as a deputy sheriff. For members who
				have left covered employment and who have elected to defer their retirement,
				the five year period referred to in this rule begins to run on the date the
				member leaves the active performance of the duties required of a deputy
				sheriff.
3.4. Notwithstanding any
				provision of this rule to the contrary, a member who has applied for and
				commenced to receive a partial duty related disability award may apply to the
				Board for a total duty disability award, if the member believes that his or her
				condition has deteriorated to the point that he or she no longer retains the
				mental or physical ability to engage in any gainful employment.
3.5. Notwithstanding any provision of this
				rule to the contrary, a member who has applied for and commenced to receive a
				partial non-duty related disability award may apply to the Board for a total
				non-duty disability award, if the member believes that his or her condition has
				deteriorated to the point that he or she no longer retains the mental or
				physical ability to engage in any gainful employment.
3.6. In the event that a member or that
				member's Sheriff on behalf of the member has applied for and has been denied
				disability retirement by the Board, neither the member nor that member's
				Sheriff on behalf of the member may file another application for disability
				retirement with the Board until the passage of one year from the date of the
				Board's last denial. Notwithstanding the minimum one year reapplication period,
				the Board may, in its sole discretion, agree to waive the minimum one year
				reapplication period for a member or that member's Sheriff on behalf of the
				member if waiver of the reapplication period is requested by the member or that
				member's Sheriff on a form approved by the Board. The member or that member's
				Sheriff shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Board, through medical
				records, reports or other reliable evidence, that the member has suffered a new
				or substantial worsening of his or her medical condition since the Board's most
				recent denial of his or her application for disability retirement.