N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 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 thirty-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 such

retiree's 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 such retiree's 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.