Friday, January 1, 2016

The Disability Benefits E-Book - A Guide to Disability Benefits available to officers and employees of New York State and its Political Subdivisions

The Disability Benefits E-book

2016 Edition

This 800+ page electronic handbook for administrators, union officials and attorneys focuses on disability benefits available to officers and employees in public service pursuant to Civil Service Law §§71, 72 and 73, General Municipal Law §207-a and §207-c, the Retirement and Social Security Law, the Workers’ Compensation Law, and similar provisions of law.


The Topics considered in this e-book are set out below for your information

The price of this electronic handbook is still only $295. It is sent as a searchable PDF document via e-mail for downloading to your computer. The fact that this is an electronic publication permits the user to locate information in the database by using key words and phrases. If you win, or better yet, avoid, one lawsuit or grievance based on the information found in this e-book,  you probably will save many times it price.

HOW TO ORDER

You may order this e-book using a credit card via PayPal using the secure link provided in the upper right corner to charge this purchase. 

You may also order your copy of the Disability Benefits E-book by e-mailing your name, the name of your organization, the e-mail address to which the e-book should be sent [if different] and its telephone number [and the purchase order number if the organization uses purchase orders] to: Publications@nycap.rr.com.or you may mail your organization's purchase order form to:

Public Employment Law Press
887 Birchwood Lane
Schenectady, NY 12309-3119


TOPICS

Ability to perform light duty - discontinuation of GML §207-c benefits
Adjustments to a disabled firefighter’s salary and GML §207-a[2] supplements
Action in the nature of “mandamus”
Action to terminate a disability retirement allowance then being received by a NYC police officer must be approved by the NYC Police Pension Fund's Board of Trustees
Advisory opinions of the New York City Corporation Counsel – returning to duty
Age discrimination – requiring a police officer or firefighter retire upon attaining a specified age
Agreement to retire
Allowing the arbitrator to exceed authority
Another type of offset case - recovery under the terms of an insurance policy purchased by the employer
Appealing the denial of an application for General Municipal Law §207-c disability benefits
Applicant for §207-c of the General Municipal Law disability benefits must show that the disability was directly caused by a job-related illness or injury
Applicants for §207-c benefits -a "direct causal relationship
Application for an accident disability retirement - tie vote by review board
Applications for accidental disability retirement benefits must show event
Application of CSL 71 in situations were §§207-a or 207-c are operative
Applying for accidental disability retirement and performance of duty disability retirement benefits
Applicant for an accidental or line of duty disability retirement allowance has the burden of establishing that he or she is entitled to such a retirement allowance
Applying for accidental disability retirement and performance of duty disability retirement benefits
Appointing authority must comply with the procedures set out in Civil Service Law §72
Appointing authority not authorized file an “employer application” for ordinary disability on behalf of a police officer receiving §209-c benefits
Appointing authority required to consider the fact that an applicant for General Municipal Law §207-a (2) benefits has been awarded performance
Appointing authority’s adoption of hearing officer’s findings and recommendation a “final determination” for purposes of appeal
Approving §207-c benefit claims arbitrable"
Arbitrating a return to light duty
Arbitration
Arbitrator finds a probationary employee at the time of his injury, is not exclusive, and a CBA will not be construed to implicitly expand
Asking an administrative body to reconsider its earlier decision does not revive an expired statute of limitation without a fresh examination of the matter based on newly presented evidence
Assignment of personnel
Automatic §207-a benefits
Back salary and benefits
Benefit available members of union pursuant to a "Memorandum of Agreement" was a “vested lifetime benefit”
Benefits after Felony Conviction
Benefits provided to a police officer under General Municipal Law §207-c
Causal relationship between job duties and the resulting illness
Causality of the infirmity.
Challenge to a denial of Section 207-a benefits is to be made by an action in
Challenge to decision following a hearing conducted pursuant to procedures
Challenge to probation
Challenging the discontinuation of a Section 207-a salary supplement
Challenging the result of a GML §§207-a/c hearing
Charging lost time to leave credits
Chiropractic Treatment
Claiming and denying benefits available under to General Municipal Law §207-c
Collecting Section 207-a(2) benefits.
Collective bargaining
Collective bargaining agreement may establish a vested right to a continuation of the same health coverage as a retiree enjoyed by the individual at the time of his or her retirement
Collective bargaining agreements
Collective bargaining issues
Compulsory arbitration demand
Conflicting medical opinions
Congenital condition's impact on eligibility
Continuing §207-c benefits if an individual refuses to perform light duty
Contradictory testimony
Controlling law
Correction officer’s work-related injury must be caused by direct interaction with an inmate in order to qualify for RSSL §507-b disability retirement benefits
Court review of denial of General Municipal Law §207-a benefits
Court sustains arbitrator’s Section 207-a benefits award
Credit for medical expenses
Death benefits
Definition of accident
Denial of benefits distinguished from revocation of Section 207-c benefits
Determination of "on the job" injury
Determination of permanent disability
Determining General Municipal Law Section 207-a benefits
Determining if there is a special relationship between a municipal employer and a municipal employee
Determining line-of-duty disability
Determining Section 207-a benefits
Determining the effective date of a “9-11 related” accidental disability retirement allowance established by "reclassification"
Determining the impact of a disability
Differing medical testimony
Disability benefits
Disability benefits and light duty
Disability Leave and the Taylor Law
Disability resulting from cancer
Disability retirement
Disability retirement and Section 207-c
Disciplinary actions and Section 207 benefits
Discontinuing disability benefits
Discontinuing Section 207-a benefits
Discrimination against probationer
Discrimination and Civil Rights
Disqualification for Section 207-a
Doctrine of Estoppel cannot be invoked to attain eligibility for a retirement benefit if the individual does not qualify for the benefit claimed
Due process and Section 73, Civil Service Law determinations
Due process requirements - filing an employer’s application for disability
Eligibility for §207-c benefits only requires the applicant to show a direct casual relationship
Eligibility for Disability Benefits
Eligibility for FMLA leave
Eligibility for the salary increases and benefits
Employee alleged to be mentally unfit to perform his job
Employee injured on the job may sue for injuries he or she subsequently suffered while being transported to a hospital for treatment for his or her job related injuries
Employee, as an active participant in a work-related tragedy rather than as a bystander, is eligible for workers’ compensation benefits
Employee's application for Workers’ Compensation Benefits based on "multiple chemical sensitivity" rejected
Employee's inability to provide the necessary urine sample for a drug test because of a medical condition trumps allegations of misconduct
Employer applications for disability retirement
Employer’s decision not to hire an individual because the individual was pregnant a form of unlawful discrimination
Employer has the burden of proving an individual cannot perform the essential functions of the position regardless of any reasonable accommodation provided
Employer may not summarily terminate an individual’s Section 207-c
Employer must permit employee to try to cure defects in his or her FMLA request before denying it
Employer to consider a reasonable accommodation after employee on workers’ compensation leave
Employer to make an individualized assessment of a disabled applicant’s particular abilities
Employer’s medical evidence rebutting GML Section 207-m presumption
Employers must provide a disabled individual with a reasonable accommodation
EMT Differential
Entitlement to benefits
ERISA provisions do not apply to “assignment and alienation” of  government retirement plans
Establishing a right to Section 207-c benefits
Evaluating disability claims
Evaluating the application of the §207-k presumption that a heart condition
Evaluation of degree of injury
Exaggerating injury
Exhausting administrative remedy
Exhausting leave accruals
Failure to follow the negotiated Section 207-a appeals procedure
Firefighter who returned to duty not eligible for Section 207-a(2)
Firefighter's rule and municipal liability
Forfeiting Section 207-a benefits
Fraud - selective prosecution
Fraud in claiming a Section 207-c benefit
General Municipal Law §207-c Hearing Officer to weigh conflicting medical opinions
Global settlement contract settled the underlying grievance renders the appeal moot
Governmental entity’s liability for alleged negligence
Grievance challenging the denial of §207-a (2) benefits
Health and life insurance for retirees
Health insurance coverage under
Health insurance for disabled
Hearing before reducing or withholding Section 207-c benefits
Hearing loss
Hearing Officer -- conflicting medical evidence
Hearings provided by local law
Heart condition - job related
Heart Disease
Holiday pay
Improper practice claims
Inability to Work with a particular supervisor is not a disability
Injured police officer’s settlement with the insurance company
Injury at social event
Injury by co-worker
Injury in official vehicle
Injury in parking lot
Injury off-duty
Injury while leaving work
Interpreting contract language
Involuntary disability leave
Involuntary disability retirement
Involuntary retirement
Is it a health insurance claim or a workers compensation claim?
Law in place at the time of administrative decision controls
Layoffs and ADR application deadlines
Legislative intent with respect to providing performance of duty disability
Light Duty
Light Duty and the Taylor Law
Light duty as an accommodation
Light duty requirements
Line of duty determination
Line of duty injury
Longevity Pay
Longevity salary increases
Medical Board contradictions in its recommendation
Medical evidence of disability
Medical examination
Member of the NYS Employees’ Retirement System must file a timely application
Membership in the Retirement System is critical to an employee’s earning member service credit
Mental stress and workers' compensation
Multiple Agencies - assisting a neighboring jurisdiction's police force
Municipality obligated to continue to pay the “207-a salary differential”
Municipality's refusal to honor retirement system's decision
Named beneficiaries
Need for independent determination
Negligence of employer in injury
Negotiating benefit requests procedures
Negotiating Section 207-a procedures
Negotiations after the contract expires
New hearing after denying employee’s application for GML 207-c benefits
No " line of duty injury applicable to General Municipal Law §207-a
Non-service-related disability
Not all tasks performed at work constitute the performance of official duties
NYS Employees’ Retirement System benefits are based on the member’s job title at retirement
Obligations under other laws or agreements
Occupational hearing loss of a collective bargaining agreement of duty disability retirement benefits
Off-Duty Coverage
Off-duty employment of peace officers
Off-duty incurred disability
Off-duty injuries
Officer is receiving Section 207-c benefits
Offset for disability benefits
On-call employees being off-duty
Ordinary disability retirement application filed on behalf of a police officer
Overtime assignments
Pay Raises for Disabled Firefighters
Payroll deductions for withholding taxes
Pension Fund’s use of Social Security Administration’s decision to determine eligibility
Placement on involuntary leave as the result of disability not work-related under color of Civil Service Law §72.5
Police officer denied Section 207-c benefits unrelated to line-of-duty injury
Police officer eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits
Police officer forfeits §207-c disability pay benefits
Police officer must show a causal connection to heart attack
Post-traumatic stress and Workers' Compensation
Power of Arbitrator
Pre-benefit medical examination
Preexisting nonwork-related conditions may not always bar recovery
Preferred list status and Section 363, RSSL
Presumption of work-connected heart attack
Pre-termination hearings -- Section 73 of the Civil Service
Pre-tour accidents
Prior litigation does not bar revaluation of disabled employee’s ability to perform his or her duties
Probationary Period
Probationer's claim for disability retirement
Probationer's disability discrimination claim
Procedure - accidental disability retirement application
Procedure for challenging a retirement system service credit
Proposals for de novo arbitral review to resolve disputes not mandatory
Providing Section 207-c benefits
Psychological disability
Psychological evaluation
Public employees cannot be required to surrender their legal right to retirement benefits
Qualification for employment is critical to Section 207-c benefits
Reasonable accommodation
Rebutting a presumption
Recall from GML 207-a/c Leave
Recall to light duty
Recapturing retirement benefits
Record required for court to adjudicate a petition
Recovering Section 207-c overpayments
Recovering Section 207-c payments
Re-employment examination
Refusal to take medical examination
Refusal to undergo surgery
Refusing a "light duty" assignment
Reimbursement for medical expenses
Reimbursement from workers' compensation
Reimbursement of improperly withheld GML §207-c benefits
Reimbursing Section 207-c benefits
Reinstatement after light duty
Reinstatement following disability
Reinstatement from Section 72 leave
Request for reconsideration of a final administrative decision
Request for reconsideration of an administration decision does not toll the statute of limitations
Requirement to undergo surgery
Requiring employees absent on sick leave to be examined by a physician designated by the employer 
Residence
Residence requirements
Retired firefighter not authorized by statute
Retirees as employees
Retiree's health insurance premiums
Retirement and Social Security Law
Retirement benefits and divorce retirement
Retroactive benefits
Retroactive benefits under 207-a(1)
Retroactive disability retirement
Retroactive payments of 207-a/207-c benefits
Return to duty after an injury
Rulings by the Workers' Compensation Board
Running of the statute of limitations
Salary Adjustments
School district active employee retired employee provided with identical health insurance benefits
Section 207-a administrative decisions
Section 207-a payments may not be discontinued
Section 207-a salary adjustments - violations of ADA
Section 207-a. payment of salary, medical and hospital expenses
Section 207-a/207-c determinations
Section 207-a/207-c exclusive remedy for co-worker negligence
Section 207-a/207-c hearings by the court
Section 207-c administrative hearings
Section 207-c hearing officer’s evaluation of the evidence entitled to great weight
Section 207-c line of duty disability
Section 207-c. Payment of salary, wages, medical and hospital expenses
Seeking a lien against the proceeds of negligence settlement
Self-insurance plan
Service requirement
Showing a direct causal relationship between job duties and the resulting illness or injury
Sick leave
Sick leave vs. Section 207 benefits
Simultaneously receiving GML Section 207-c benefits
Smoking and coronary disease
Social Security provides disability benefits if the employee is "disabled
Statutory presumption in General Municipal Law §207-k
Stopping health insurance benefits
Stress and 207-a/207-c
Stress disorder
Stress-Related Disability Retirement
Subjects of collective bargaining
Submission of a fraudulent medical note alleged
Sudden events as accidents
Supplement upon subsequent retirement for disability retirement
Supplementing a retirement allowance
Taxability of Disability Pay
Taxability of Survivor Benefits
Taylor Law and 207-a, 207-c
Terminating disability benefits
Termination of 207-a benefits for age
Termination of disabled individuals
Terms of the collective bargaining agreement
Time limits - accidental disability retirement
Timing of payments
Transfers
Unequal treatment
Use of leave credits
Using the job description of the individual assigned to light, limited or restricted duty
Vacation Accruals
Where – when - how did the accident occur
Where there is conflicting medical evidence Retirement System may rely on its expert’s opinion
Withdrawing an application for service retirement benefits
Workers' Compensation Board’s granting an award does not,automatically entitle the claimant to General Municipal Law §207-c benefits
Workers' Compensation Law