2020 -- H 7880 | |
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LC004391 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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A N A C T | |
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELIEF OF INJURED AND DECEASED | |
FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Casey, Canario, Morin, Jacquard, and Noret | |
Date Introduced: February 26, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Labor | |
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: | |
1 | SECTION 1. Section 45-19-1 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-19 entitled "Relief of |
2 | Injured and Deceased Fire Fighters and Police Officers" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
3 | 45-19-1. Salary payment during line of duty illness or injury. |
4 | (a)(1) Whenever any police officer of the Rhode Island airport corporation or whenever |
5 | any police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or |
6 | deputy fire marshal of any city, town, fire district, or the state of Rhode Island is wholly or |
7 | partially incapacitated by reason of injuries received or sickness contracted in the performance of |
8 | his or her duties or due to their rendering of emergency assistance within the physical boundaries |
9 | of the state of Rhode Island at any occurrence involving the protection or rescue of human life |
10 | which necessitates that they respond in a professional capacity when they would normally be |
11 | considered by their employer to be officially off-duty, the respective city, town, fire district, state |
12 | of Rhode Island, or Rhode Island airport corporation by which the police officer, firefighter, crash |
13 | rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, is employed, |
14 | shall, during the period of the incapacity, pay the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue |
15 | crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, the salary or wage |
16 | and benefits to which the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief |
17 | deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, would be entitled had he or she not been |
18 | incapacitated, and shall pay the medical, surgical, dental, optical, or other attendance, or |
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1 | treatment, nurses, and hospital services, medicines, crutches, and apparatus for the necessary |
2 | period, except that if any city, town, fire district, the state of Rhode Island, or Rhode Island |
3 | airport corporation provides the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, |
4 | chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, with insurance coverage for the related |
5 | treatment, services, or equipment, then the city, town, fire district, the state of Rhode Island, or |
6 | Rhode Island airport corporation is only obligated to pay the difference between the maximum |
7 | amount allowable under the insurance coverage and the actual cost of the treatment, service, or |
8 | equipment. In addition, the cities, towns, fire districts, the state of Rhode Island, or Rhode Island |
9 | airport corporation shall pay all similar expenses incurred by a member who has been placed on a |
10 | disability pension and suffers a recurrence of the injury or illness that dictated his or her disability |
11 | retirement, subject to the provisions of subsection (j) herein. |
12 | (2) Post-traumatic stress disorder, related to the exposure of potentially traumatic events |
13 | resulting from a police officer or firefighter acting within the course of their employment or from |
14 | the rendering of emergency assistance in the state of Rhode Island at any occurrence involving |
15 | the protection or the rescue of human life while off-duty as set forth in subsection (h) of this |
16 | section, as described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, |
17 | published by the American Psychiatric Association and diagnosed with a disorder by a licensed |
18 | mental health professional, with a master's degree or higher, shall be deemed to have sustained an |
19 | injury in the line of duty, as that term is used in subsection (a)(1) of this section. The benefits |
20 | provided for under this section shall not be extended to a police officer or firefighter if their post- |
21 | traumatic stress disorder diagnosis, arises out of any disciplinary action, work evaluation, job |
22 | transfer, layoff, demotion, termination or similar adverse job actions. |
23 | (b) As used in this section, "police officer" means and includes any chief or other |
24 | member of the police department of any city or town regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage |
25 | and any deputy sheriff, member of the fugitive task force, or capitol police officer, permanent |
26 | environmental police officer or criminal investigator of the department of environmental |
27 | management, or airport police officer. |
28 | (c) As used in this section, "firefighter" means and includes any chief or other member of |
29 | the fire department or rescue personnel of any city, town, or fire district, and any person |
30 | employed as a member of the fire department of the town of North Smithfield, or fire department |
31 | or district in any city or town. |
32 | (d) As used in this section, "crash rescue crewperson" means and includes any chief or |
33 | other member of the emergency crash rescue section, division of airports, or department of |
34 | transportation of the state of Rhode Island regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage. |
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1 | (e) As used in this section, "fire marshal," "chief deputy fire marshal," and "deputy fire |
2 | marshal" mean and include the fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, and deputy fire marshals |
3 | regularly employed by the state of Rhode Island pursuant to the provisions of chapter 28.2 of title |
4 | 23. |
5 | (f) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island, except for sworn employees of the |
6 | Rhode Island state police, who is otherwise entitled to the benefits of chapter 19 of this title shall |
7 | be subject to the provisions of chapters 29 -- 38 of title 28 for all case management procedures |
8 | and dispute resolution for all benefits. |
9 | (g) In order to receive the benefits provided for under this section, a police officer or |
10 | firefighter must prove to his or her employer that he or she had reasonable grounds to believe that |
11 | there was an emergency that required an immediate need for their assistance for the protection or |
12 | rescue of human life. |
13 | (h) Any claims to the benefits provided for under this section resulting from the rendering |
14 | of emergency assistance in the state of Rhode Island at any occurrence involving the protection or |
15 | rescue of human life while off-duty, shall first require those covered by this section to submit a |
16 | sworn declaration to their employer attesting to the date, time, place, and nature of the event |
17 | involving the protection or rescue of human life causing the professional assistance to be rendered |
18 | and the cause and nature of any injuries sustained in the protection or rescue of human life. Sworn |
19 | declarations shall also be required from any available witness to the alleged emergency involving |
20 | the protection or rescue of human life. |
21 | (i) All declarations required under this section shall contain the following language: |
22 | "Under penalty of perjury, I declare and affirm that I have examined this declaration, |
23 | including any accompanying schedules and statements, and that all statements contained herein |
24 | are true and correct." |
25 | (j) Any person, not employed by the state of Rhode Island, receiving injured on-duty |
26 | benefits pursuant to this section, and subject to the jurisdiction of the state retirement board for |
27 | accidental retirement disability, for an injury occurring on or after July 1, 2011, shall apply for an |
28 | accidental disability retirement allowance from the state retirement board not later than the later |
29 | of eighteen (18) months after the date of the person's injury that resulted in the person's injured- |
30 | on-duty status or sixty (60) days from the date on which the treating physician certifies that the |
31 | person has reached maximum medical improvement. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or |
32 | alter any and all rights of the parties with respect to independent medical examination or |
33 | otherwise, as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the |
34 | forgoing, any person receiving injured-on-duty benefits as the result of a static and incapacitating |
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1 | injury whose permanent nature is readily obvious and ascertainable shall be required to apply for |
2 | an accidental disability retirement allowance within sixty (60) days from the date on which the |
3 | treating physician certifies that the person's injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date |
4 | on which the determination of permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical |
5 | examination procedures as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. |
6 | (1) If a person with injured-on-duty status fails to apply for an accidental disability |
7 | retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the time frame set forth above, that |
8 | person's injured on duty payment shall terminate. Further, any person suffering a static and |
9 | incapacitating injury as set forth in subsection (j) above and who fails to apply for an accidental |
10 | disability benefit allowance as set forth in subsection (j) shall have his or her injured-on-duty |
11 | payment terminated. |
12 | (2) A person who so applies shall continue to receive injured-on-duty payments, and the |
13 | right to continue to receive IOD payments of a person who so applies shall terminate in the event |
14 | of a final ruling of the workers compensation court allowing accidental disability benefits. |
15 | Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter any and all rights of the parties with respect to |
16 | independent medical examination or otherwise, as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining |
17 | agreement. |
18 | (k) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island who is currently receiving injured- |
19 | on-duty benefits or any person employed by the state of Rhode Island who in the future is entitled |
20 | to injured-on-duty benefits pursuant to this chapter, and subject to the jurisdiction of the state |
21 | retirement board for accidental retirement disability, shall apply for an accidental disability |
22 | retirement allowance from the state retirement board not later than sixty (60) days from the date |
23 | on which a treating physician or an independent medical examiner certifies that the person has |
24 | reached maximum medical improvement, and in any event not later than eighteen (18) months |
25 | after the date of the person's injury that resulted in the person being on injured-on-duty. Nothing |
26 | herein shall be construed to limit or alter any and all rights of the parties with respect to |
27 | independent medical examination or otherwise, as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining |
28 | agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing, any person receiving injured on duty benefits as the |
29 | result of a static and incapacitating injury whose permanent nature is readily obvious and |
30 | ascertainable shall be required to apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance within |
31 | sixty (60) days from the date on which a treating physician or an independent medical examiner |
32 | certifies that the person's injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date on which such |
33 | determination of permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical examination |
34 | procedures as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. |
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1 | (1) If a person employed by the state of Rhode Island with injured-on-duty status fails to |
2 | apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the |
3 | time frame set forth in subsection (k) above, that person's injured-on-duty payment shall |
4 | terminate. Further, any person employed by the state of Rhode Island suffering a static and |
5 | incapacitating injury as set forth in subsection (k) above and who fails to apply for an accidental |
6 | disability benefit allowance as set forth in subsection (k) shall have his or her injured on duty |
7 | payment terminated. |
8 | (2) A person employed by the state of Rhode Island who so applies shall continue to |
9 | receive injured on duty payments, and the right to continue to receive injured on-duty payments |
10 | of a person who so applies shall terminate upon final adjudication by the state retirement board |
11 | approving or denying either ordinary or accidental disability payments and, notwithstanding § 45- |
12 | 31.2-9, this termination of injured-on-duty benefits shall not be stayed. |
13 | (3)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all persons employed by the state of |
14 | Rhode Island entitled to benefits under this section who were injured prior to July 1, 2019, and |
15 | who have been receiving injured-on-duty benefits pursuant to this section for a period of eighteen |
16 | (18) months or longer as of July 1, 2019, shall have up to ninety (90) days from July 1, 2019, to |
17 | apply for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance. Any person employed by the state |
18 | of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty benefits for a period less than eighteen (18) months as |
19 | of July 1, 2019, shall apply for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance within |
20 | eighteen (18) months of the date of injury that resulted in the person receiving injured-on-duty |
21 | pay; provided however, said person shall have a minimum of ninety (90) days to apply. |
22 | Applications for disability retirement received by the state retirement board by any |
23 | person employed by the State of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty payments that shall be |
24 | deemed untimely pursuant to § 36-10-14(b) shall have ninety (90) days from July 1, 2019, to |
25 | apply for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance. Failure to apply for an accidental |
26 | disability retirement benefit allowance within the timeframe set forth herein shall result in the |
27 | termination of injured-on-duty benefits. |
28 | (ii) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty |
29 | payments who has been issued a final adjudication of the state retirement board on an application |
30 | for an ordinary or accidental disability benefit, either approving or denying the application, shall |
31 | have his or her injured-on-duty payments terminated. |
32 | (4) If awarded an accidental disability pension, any person employed by the state of |
33 | Rhode Island covered under this section shall receive benefits consistent with § 36-10-15. |
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1 | SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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LC004391 | |
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EXPLANATION | |
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL | |
OF | |
A N A C T | |
RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- RELIEF OF INJURED AND DECEASED | |
FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS | |
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1 | This act would extend injured-on-duty benefits to police officers and firefighters that |
2 | suffer from diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, except under certain conditions. |
3 | This act would take effect upon passage. |
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LC004391 | |
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