Governor Paterson Signs Law to Expand Disabiltiy Benefit Eligibility to More 9/11 Rescuers

GOVERNOR PATERSON SIGNS LAW TO EXPAND DISABILITY BENEFIT ELIGIBILITY TO MORE 9/11 RESCUERS AND TO EXTEND REGISTRATION DEADLINE TO SEPTEMBER 11, 2010.

BALCONY, the Business and Labor Coalition of New York, commends Governor David Paterson for signing into law the bill (S.8676 Golden / A.11730 Silver) that expands eligibility for benefits for those who helped clean up the World Trade Center site, and that extends the registration deadline for presumptive accidental disability retirement benefits from June 14, 2009 to September 11, 2010.

BALCONY also congratulates the sponsors of the bill, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senator Martin Golden, and co-sponsors, including Assembly members Richard Gottfried and Jonathan Bing. The legislation was introduced on June 13 and was passed by the New York State (NYS) Assembly and the NYS Senate on July 8. 

The bill is based on recommendations made in March by the September 11th Worker Protection Task Force. Under the proposed legislation, certain persons who were involved in the rescue, recovery and clean-up operations following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center (“WTC”), who are not eligible for presumptive eligibility for accidental disability benefits, to be entitled to such presumption.

This bill expands the list of first responders who can file for benefits to include the following:

• Non-uniformed first responders not required to undergo a pre-employment physical examination
• First responders who worked for any amount of time in the first 48 hours after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
• Vested members of a public pension system who stopped working prior to filing a claim
• Workers who became disabled more than two years after the WTC disaster but before the Workers’ Compensation Law was extended to cover them
• 911 dispatchers
• Emergency vehicle radio repair mechanics
• State and county correction officers and deputy sheriffs

“Because many non-uniformed City and State employees who took part in the rescue and recovery operation at Ground Zero were not required to undergo pre-employment physicals, this requirement was dropped from the bill introduced by Governor Paterson”, according to the news release posted on the website of the New York City Department of Health. “Instead, employees can obtain a disability pension by providing access to medical records and demonstrating the lack of any pre-existing conditions prior to September 11, 2001. The geographic boundaries for filing a disability claim have also been expanded beyond four WTC sites to include employees who worked in emergency vehicle garages and emergency call centers.”

The same news release reports that “the law now requires that individuals who file disability claims must have worked for at least 40 hours in the rescue and recovery operation following the WTC disaster. The new legislation withdraws this requirement for responders who worked at Ground Zero in the first 48 hours after the collapse of the WTC because the Task Force gathered medical evidence demonstrating that early arrival at the site increased the health risks associated with WTC exposure.”

In October 2006, BALCONY produced a series of 9/11 Workers’ Compensation television, radio and internet Public Service Announcements (PSAs), in both English and Spanish, featuring actress Sigourney Weaver, director Jim Simpson, and former boxing champion José Torres, all of whom work or live in Lower Manhattan. BALCONY 9/11 Workers’ Compensation PSAs were funded by The Center on Workers’ Injury Policy, Inc., among others, and have already been disseminated throughout New York on TV and radio stations, distributed to business and trade associations, and streamed on union websites.

The information needed to register for these benefits can be found at

www.nyc.gov/html/doh/wtc/html/rescue/workcomp.shtml.