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Providing Workers? Compensation benefits to firefighters for a work-related injury

Providing Workers? Compensation benefits to firefighters for a work-related injury
Matter of Wiley v City of Watertown Fire Dept., 39 A.D.3d 975

Frederick Wiley, a paid firefighter, was injured in 1981 while working for the City of Watertown Fire Department. He received benefits pursuant to General Municipal Law Section 207-a until 1999, when such benefits were terminated because he was found to have engaged in other employment.*

After the termination of his Section 207-a benefits was confirmed on appeal (Matter of Wiley v Hiller, 277 AD2d 1024 [2000], appeal dismissed 96 NY2d 852 [2001]), Wiley applied for Workers? Compensation benefits for his 1981 injury.

Watertown contested the payment of the claim on the grounds that, among other things, the City of Watertown had not extended workers? compensation coverage to paid firefighters prior to Wiley?s injury and, in any event, his claim is time barred. The Workers? Compensation Board, however, found that coverage had been extended by resolution of the Watertown City Council in 1933 and Wiley?s claim was not time barred. Watertown appealed.

The Appellate Divisions initially noted:

"There is no dispute that paid firefighters are not specifically covered under the Workers? Compensation Law.? Here, however, the issued to be resolved ?is whether the City Council, nonetheless, extended coverage to previously uncovered employees pursuant to Workers? Compensation Law."**

The court?s conclusion: the intent to provide such coverage is expressed only in the Watertown City Council?s resolution adopted in 1984, a resolution adopted after Wiley had sustained his injury.

The Appellate Division pointed to the language used in 1984 resolution as expressing the City?s intent, for the first time, to cover all officers, employees and officials by adopting the following resolution:

"NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the City of Watertown will provide [w]orkers? [c]ompensation coverage for all employees of the City of Watertown, all elected and appointed officials and officers of the City of Watertown, and any other persons for whom the New York Workers? Compensation Law provides coverage under the City of Watertown?s self-insured plan."

The court that ruled that the Board erred in finding that Workers? Compensation coverage was extended to paid firefighters before Wiley was injured.

* Subdivision 6 of General Municipal Law Section 207-a at one time barred any and all ?income,? regardless of source, while the individual was on 207-a leave. The subdivision has been amended and currently provides an exception for ?passive income:? 6. Any fireman receiving payments or benefits pursuant to this section, who engages in any employment other than as provided in subdivision three or five of this section shall on the commencement of such employment, forfeit his entitlement to any payments and benefits hereunder, and any such payment or benefit unlawfully received by such fireman shall be refunded to and may be recovered by the municipal corporation or fire district employing such fireman in a civil action. For the purposes of this section, employment shall not include income derived from passive involvement with: gains derived from dealings in property, interest income, rents from real property, royalties, dividends, alimony and separate maintenance payments, annuities, income from life insurance and endowment contracts, other pensions, income from the discharge of indebtedness, income in the respect of a decedent, and income from an interest in an estate or trust.

** With respect to the expectation that Workers? Compensation benefits may be made available to a disabled firefighter, Subdivision 4-a of General Municipal Law Section 207-a provides: 4-a. Any benefit payable pursuant to subdivision two of this section to a person who is granted retirement for disability incurred in performance of duty pursuant to section three hundred sixty-three-c of the retirement and social security law shall be reduced by the amount of the benefits that are finally determined payable under the workers? compensation law by reason of accidental disability.

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If you are interested in learning more about §207-a or §207-c leave procedures please click here: http://section207.blogspot.com/2009/03/v-behaviorurldefaultvml-o.html
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Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on March 24, 2010 (boomark / email).