N.Y. Retirement & Social Security Law § 507-c: Performance of duty disability retirement; New York city department of correction

§ 507-c. Performance of duty disability retirement; New York city

department of correction. a. Any member in the uniformed personnel in

institutions under the jurisdiction of the New York city department of

correction, 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 correction or the department of 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

three-quarters of final average salary, subject to the provisions of

section 13-176 of the administrative code of the city of New York,

provided, however, that the provisions of this section shall not apply

to a member of the uniformed force of the New York city department of

correction who is a New York city uniformed correction/sanitation

revised plan member.

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 subdivision a of this

section 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. 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 been 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 or vested

had the condition been known and fully developed at the time of the

member's retirement or separation from service with vested rights,

unless the contrary is proved 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.

d. 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 c 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 thirty-five years; and (3) dies from

a qualifying World Trade center condition, as defined in section two of

this chapter, that is 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

such retiree's or vestee's part. Such retiree's or vestee'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 or vestee shall be deemed to have died on the

date of such retiree's or vestee's 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 five hundred nine of

this article requesting conversion of such retiree's service, vested

right 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.

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 member who: (1) has met the criteria of

subdivision c 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, that is 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.