2013 New York Consolidated Laws
RSS - Retirement & Social Security
Article 14 - (500 - 520) 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  inmate  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 inmate or a person described in subdivision a of this section as a
  natural and proximate result of an act of any inmate or person described
  in such subdivision a that may have involved transmission of a specified
  transmissible disease from an inmate 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.