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Employee who is unable to return to duty from disability leave due to unrelated personal misconduct cannot continue to receive disability benefits

Employee who is unable to return to duty from disability leave due to unrelated personal misconduct cannot continue to receive disability benefits
Matter of Seiferheld v Kelly, 2008 NY Slip Op 32948(U), October 23, 2008, Supreme Court, New York County, Docket Number: 114351/07, Judge: Lottie E. Wilkins, [This opinion is not selected for publication]

James J. Seiferheld, a New York City police officer, was injured in the line of duty. He was subsequently found to be fit to resume his duties by the Medical Review Board. The Board determined that Seiferheld?s condition had substantially improved since the original determination that he was disabled.

However, as a result of circumstances wholly unrelated to his physical or mental ability to return to work, his use of illegal drugs ? Seiferheld was found ineligible for re-employment as a result, in the words of Justice Wilkins, ?of his own disqualifying activities.?

Accordingly, said the court, these circumstances do not justify a result whereby Seiferheld would continue to receive full accident disability retirement benefits and ?thereby reap a reward from his own dishonorable actions.? Supreme Court said that the fact that Seiferheld ?did not willfully refuse to return to City service but instead disqualified himself as a result of drug use does not compel a different result.? Although he did not "willfully refuse to return to duty" but, rather, was disqualified from doing so due to his ingesting of illegal drugs, Justice Wilkins decisded that to permit him to continuue to receive full disability pension benefits even though he has been deemed to be no longer disabled would be inconsistent with the rational underlying the "Safeguards on Disability Retirement" designed to prevent abuse.

Justice Wilkins concluded that without the potential for the eventual suspension of disability retirement benefits subsequent to a finding of fitness to return to duty, the "Safeguards on Disability Retirement" provision would have no meaningful effect as to those individuals who do not return to City service.

The full text of the decision is posted on the Internet at:

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/pdfs/2008/2008_32948.pdf

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on November 06, 2008 (boomark / email).