Chapter 283
2013 -- H 5768
Enacted 07/15/13
A N A C T
RELATING TO
TOWNS AND CITIES - OPTIONAL RETIREMENT FOR MEMBERS OF POLICE FORCE AND
FIREFIGHTERS
Introduced By: Representatives Craven, Mattiello, O`Neill, and Lombardi
Date Introduced: February 28, 2013
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 45-21.2-9 of the General Laws in Chapter
45-21.2 entitled
"Optional Retirement
for Members of Police Force and Fire Fighters" is hereby amended to read
as follows:
45-21.2-9.
Retirement for accidental disability. -- (a) Any member in active service,
regardless of length of service, is entitled to an accidental
disability retirement allowance.
Application for the allowance is made by the member or
on the member's behalf, stating that the
member is physically or mentally incapacitated for further
service as the result of an injury
sustained while in the performance of duty and certifying to
the time, place, and conditions of the
duty performed by the member which resulted in the alleged
disability and that the alleged
disability was not the result of the willful negligence or
misconduct on the part of the member,
and was not the result of age or length of service, and that
the member has not attained the age of
sixty-five (65). The application shall be made within
eighteen (18) months of the alleged
accident from which the injury has resulted in the member's
present disability and shall be
accompanied by an accident report and a physician's report
certifying to the disability. If the
member was able to return to his or her employment and
subsequently reinjures or aggravates the
same injury, the member shall make another application
within eighteen (18) months of the
reinjury or aggravation which shall be accompanied by a
physician's report certifying to the
reinjury or aggravation causing the disability. If a medical
examination made by three (3)
physicians engaged by the retirement board, and other
investigations as the board may make,
confirms the statements made by the member, the board may
grant the member an accidental
disability retirement allowance.
(b) For the purposes of
subsection (a), "aggravation" shall mean an intervening work-
related trauma that independently contributes to a member's
original injury that amounts to more
than the natural progression of the preexisting disease or
condition and is not the result of age or
length of service. The intervening independent trauma causing
the aggravation must be an
identifiable event or series of work-related events that are the
proximate cause of the member's
present condition of disability.
(c) "Occupational
cancer", as used in this section, means a cancer arising out of
employment as a fire fighter, due to injury due to exposures to
smoke, fumes, or carcinogenic,
poisonous, toxic, or chemical substances while in the
performance of active duty in the fire
department.
(d) For purposes of
subsection (a), "reinjury" shall mean a
recurrence of the original
work-related injury from a specific ascertainable event. The
specific event must be the proximate
cause of the member's present condition of disability.
(e) Any fire fighter,
including one employed by the state, or a municipal firefighter
employed by a municipality that participates in the optional
retirement for police officers and fire
fighters as provided in this chapter, who is unable to perform
his or her duties in the fire
department by reason of a disabling occupational cancer which
develops or manifests itself
during a period while the fire fighter is in the service of
the department, and any retired member
of the fire force of any city or town who develops
occupational cancer, is entitled to receive an
occupational cancer disability and he or she is entitled to all of
the benefits provided for in this
chapter, chapters 19, 19.1, and 21 of this title and chapter
10 of title 36 if the fire fighter is
employed by the state.
(f) In the event that
any party is aggrieved by the determination of the retirement board
pursuant to section 45-19-1, for an injury occurring on or
after July 1, 2011, the party may submit
an appeal to the
appeal with the retirement board and with the workers'
compensation court within twenty (20)
days of the entry of the retirement board's decision and shall serve a copy of the notice of appeal
upon the opposing party.
(g) Within twenty (20)
days of the receipt of the notice of appeal, the retirement board
shall transmit the entire record of proceedings before it,
together with its order, to the workers'
compensation court.
(h) In the event that a
party files a notice of appeal to the workers' compensation court,
the order of the retirement board shall be stayed pending
further action by the court pursuant to
the provisions of
(i)
Upon receipt of the record of proceedings before the retirement board notice
of
appeal, the court shall assign the matter to a judge and
shall issue a notice at the time advising the
parties of the judge to whom the case has been assigned and
the date for pretrial conference in
accordance with
(j) All proceedings
filed with the workers' compensation court pursuant to this section
shall be de novo and shall be subject to the provisions of
chapters 29 to 38 of Title 28 for all case
management procedures and dispute resolution processes, as
provided under the rules of workers'
compensation court. Where the matter has been heard and decided by
the workers' compensation
court, the court shall retain jurisdiction to review any prior
orders or decrees entered by it. Such
petitions to review shall be filed directly with the workers'
compensation court and shall be
subject to the case management and dispute resolution
procedures set forth in chapters 29 through
38 of title 28 ("Labor and
Labor Relations").
(k) If the court
determines that a member qualifies for accidental disability retirement,
the member shall receive a retirement allowance equal to
sixty-six and two-thirds percent (66
2/3%) of the rate of the member's compensation at the
date of the member's retirement, subject to
the provisions of section 45-21-31.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC01632
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