New Jersey-2024-A788-Introduced

An Act concerning the accidental disability retirement allowance for members of the Public Employees' Retirement System and amending P.L.1954, c.84.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 43 of P.L.1954, c.84 (C.43:15A-43) is amended to read as follows:

43. a. A member who has not attained age 65 shall, upon the application of the head of the department in which he is employed or upon his own application or the application of one acting in his behalf, be retired by the board of trustees, if said employee is permanently and totally disabled as a direct result of a traumatic event occurring during and as a result of the performance of his regular or assigned duties, on an accidental disability allowance. A traumatic event occurring during voluntary performance of regular or assigned duties at a place of employment before or after required hours of employment which is not in violation of any valid work rule of the employer or otherwise prohibited by the employer shall be deemed as occurring during the performance of regular or assigned duties.

The application to accomplish such retirement must be filed within five years of the original traumatic event, but the board of trustees may consider an application filed after the five-year period if it can be factually demonstrated to the satisfaction of the board of trustees that the disability is due to the accident and the filing was not accomplished within the five-year period due to a delayed manifestation of the disability or to circumstances beyond the control of the member.

Permanent and total disability resulting from a cardiovascular, pulmonary or musculo-skeletal condition which was not a direct result of a traumatic event occurring in the performance of duty shall be deemed an ordinary disability.

Before consideration of the application by the board of trustees, the physician or physicians designated by the board shall have first made a medical examination of the member at his residence or at any other place mutually agreed upon and shall have certified to the board that he is physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of duty, and should be retired, and the appointing authority shall have certified to the board that the member is permanently and totally disabled as a direct result of a traumatic event occurring during and as a result of the performance of his regular or assigned duties, the time and place where the duty causing the disability was performed, that the disability was not the result of his willful negligence and that the member should be retired.

No person who becomes a member of the retirement system on or after the effective date of P.L.2010, c.3 shall be eligible for retirement pursuant to this section.

b. (1) For purposes of this subsection:

"Qualifying condition or impairment of health" includes:

diseases of the upper respiratory tract and mucosae, including conditions such as conjunctivitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, vocal cord disease, upper airway hyper-reactivity and tracheo-bronchitis, or a combination of such conditions;

diseases of the lower respiratory tract, including but not limited to bronchitis, asthma, reactive airway dysfunction syndrome, and different types of pneumonitis, such as hypersensitivity, granulomatous, or eosinophilic;

diseases of the gastroesophageal tract, including esophagitis and reflux disease, either acute or chronic, caused by exposure or aggravated by exposure;

diseases of the psychological axis, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or any combination of such conditions;

diseases of the skin such as contact dermatitis or burns, either acute or chronic in nature, infectious, irritant, allergic, idiopathic or non-specific reactive in nature, caused by exposure or aggravated by exposure; and

new onset diseases resulting from exposure as such diseases occurring in the future including cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asbestos-related disease, heavy metal poisoning, musculoskeletal disease and chronic psychological disease.

"World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations" means the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site between September 11, 2001 and October 11, 2001.

"World Trade Center site" means any location below a line starting from the Hudson River and Canal Street, east on Canal Street to Pike Street, south on Pike Street to the East River, and extending to the lower tip of Manhattan.

(2) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection a. of this section or any other law to the contrary, for a member who participated, whether or not under orders or instruction by an employer to so participate, in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations for a minimum of eight hours, permanent and total disability resulting from a qualifying condition or impairment of health shall be presumed to have occurred during and as a result of the performance of the member's regular or assigned duties and not the result of the member's willful negligence, unless the contrary can be proved by competent evidence.

A member who did not participate in such operations for a minimum of eight hours shall be eligible for the presumption provided that:

the member participated in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site between September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2001;

the member sustained a documented physical injury at the World Trade Center site between September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2001 that is a qualifying condition or impairment of health resulting in a disability to the member that prevented the member from continuing to participate in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations for a minimum of eight hours; and

the documented physical injury that resulted in a disability to the member that prevented the member from continuing to participate in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations for a minimum of eight hours is the qualifying condition or impairment of health for which the member seeks a presumption under this subsection.

In order to be eligible for the presumption provided under this subsection, a member shall have successfully passed a physical examination for entry into public service, or shall present such sufficient evidence of one or more medical examinations or results performed within a reasonable period of time before or after entry into public service, which failed to disclose evidence of the qualifying condition or impairment of health that formed the basis for the permanent and total disability.

(3) A member who participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations for a minimum of eight hours and subsequently retired on a service retirement or an ordinary disability retirement and thereafter incurred a disability caused by a qualifying condition or impairment of health which the medical board determines to be caused by participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations shall be eligible to apply to the board of trustees to have the retiree's retirement allowance recalculated as an accidental disability retirement allowance for benefit payments on or after the date of the application, provided the retiree filed an application for such recalculation within 30 days of the date that the retiree knew or should have known of the existence of such disability and its relation to the rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations. In order to be eligible for such recalculation, the retiree shall have successfully passed a physical examination for entry into public service, or shall present such sufficient evidence of one or more medical examinations or results performed within a reasonable period of time before or after entry into public service, which failed to disclose evidence of the qualifying condition or impairment of health that formed the basis for the disability.

(4) The board of trustees shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this subsection and shall notify members and retirants in the retirement system of the enactment of this act, P.L.2019, c.157, and of the enactment of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), within 30 days of enactment.

A member or retiree shall not be eligible for the presumption or recalculation under this subsection unless within two years of the effective date of this act, P.L.2019, c.157, or within two years after the effective date of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), the member or retiree files a written and sworn statement with the retirement system on a form provided by the board of trustees thereof indicating the dates and locations of service.

(5) This subsection shall apply [only] to[:] any member or retiree who is or was enrolled in the Public Employees' Retirement System [because the member or retiree did not meet the age or medical requirements for enrollment in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System on the basis of the position held; and to any emergency medical technician who is a member or retiree of the Public Employees' Retirement System. For the purposes of this paragraph, "emergency medical technician" means a person trained in basic life support services as defined in section 1 of P.L.1985, c.351 (C.26:2K-21) and who is certified by the Department of Health to perform these services].

(6) This subsection shall apply regardless of whether the member or retiree, who is otherwise eligible, was enrolled in the retirement system at the time of participation in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations as specified herein.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.157, s.4)

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

A law recently enacted, P.L.2019, 157, provided that a member or retiree of the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS), the State Police Retirement System (SPRS), and the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) is eligible to receive an accidental disability retirement allowance for a permanent and total disability resulting from participation in 9/11 World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations.

The law provides that permanent and total disability resulting from a qualifying condition or impairment of health will be presumed to have occurred during and as a result of the performance of a member's regular or assigned duties if the member participated in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations for a minimum of eight hours. The law permits a member who did not participate in those operations for a minimum of eight hours to be eligible for the presumption under certain circumstances.

The law also provides for a reclassification of a retiree's retirement from a service retirement or an ordinary disability retirement to an accidental disability retirement under certain circumstances. The law applies regardless of whether the PERS member or retiree was enrolled in the PERS at the time of the participation in the rescue, recovery and cleanup operations.

Currently, the PERS portion of the bill applies only to: any member or retiree who is or was enrolled in the PERS because the member or retiree did not meet the age or medical requirements for enrollment in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System on the basis of the position held; and to any emergency medical technician who is a member or retiree of the Public Employees' Retirement System.

The bill amends the relevant provisions of the PERS to provide this benefit to any member of the PERS.