Establishes presumption for accidental disability retirement in PERS and PFRS that emergency medical technician, firefighter, and police officer has Parkinson's disease as result of employment.

A1827

ASSEMBLY, No. 1827

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman ANTHONY S. VERRELLI

District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)

SYNOPSIS

���� Establishes presumption for accidental disability
retirement in PERS and PFRS that emergency medical technician, firefighter, and
police officer has Parkinson's disease as result of employment.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning a presumption for accidental disability
retirement in the Public Employees� Retirement System and the Police and
Firemen�s Retirement System and amending P.L.1954, c.84 and P.L.1944, c.255.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 43 of P.L.1954,
c.84 (C.43:15A-43) is amended to read as follows:

���� 43. a. A member who has not
attained age 65 shall, upon the application of the head of the department in
which he is employed or upon his own application or the application of one
acting in his behalf, be retired by the board of trustees, if said employee is
permanently and totally disabled as a direct result of a traumatic event
occurring during and as a result of the performance of his regular or assigned
duties, on an accidental disability allowance.� A traumatic event occurring
during voluntary performance of regular or assigned duties at a place of
employment before or after required hours of employment which is not in
violation of any valid work rule of the employer or otherwise prohibited by the
employer shall be deemed as occurring during the performance of regular or
assigned duties.

���� The application to accomplish
such retirement must be filed within five years of the original traumatic
event, but the board of trustees may consider an application filed after the
five-year period if it can be factually demonstrated to the satisfaction of the
board of trustees that the disability is due to the accident and the filing was
not accomplished within the five-year period due to a delayed manifestation of
the disability or to circumstances beyond the control of the member.

���� Permanent and total disability
resulting from a cardiovascular, pulmonary or musculo-skeletal condition which
was not a direct result of a traumatic event occurring in the performance of
duty shall be deemed an ordinary disability.

���� Before consideration of the
application by the board of trustees, the physician or physicians designated by
the board shall have first made a medical examination of the member at his
residence or at any other place mutually agreed upon and shall have certified
to the board that he is physically or mentally incapacitated for the
performance of duty, and should be retired, and the appointing authority shall
have certified to the board that the member is permanently and totally disabled
as a direct result of a traumatic event occurring during and as a result of the
performance of his regular or assigned duties, the time and place where the
duty causing the disability was performed, that the disability was not the
result of his willful negligence and that the member should be retired.�

���� No person who becomes a member
of the retirement system on or after the effective date of P.L.2010, c.3 shall
be eligible for retirement pursuant to this section.

���� b. (1) For purposes of this
subsection:

���� "Qualifying condition or
impairment of health" includes:

���� diseases of the upper
respiratory tract and mucosae, including conditions such as conjunctivitis,
rhinitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, vocal cord disease, upper airway
hyper-reactivity and tracheo-bronchitis, or a combination of such conditions;

���� diseases of the lower
respiratory tract, including but not limited to bronchitis, asthma, reactive
airway dysfunction syndrome, and different types of pneumonitis, such as
hypersensitivity, granulomatous, or eosinophilic;

���� diseases of the
gastroesophageal tract, including esophagitis and reflux disease, either acute
or chronic, caused by exposure or aggravated by exposure;

���� diseases of the psychological
axis, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or any
combination of such conditions;

���� diseases of the skin such as
contact dermatitis or burns, either acute or chronic in nature, infectious,
irritant, allergic, idiopathic or non-specific reactive in nature, caused by
exposure or aggravated by exposure; and

���� new onset diseases resulting
from exposure as such diseases occurring in the future including cancer,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asbestos-related disease, heavy metal
poisoning, musculoskeletal disease and chronic psychological disease.

���� "World Trade Center
rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations" means the rescue, recovery, or
cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site between September 11, 2001
and October 11, 2001.

���� "World Trade Center
site" means any location below a line starting from the Hudson River and
Canal Street, east on Canal Street to Pike Street, south on Pike Street to the
East River, and extending to the lower tip of Manhattan.

���� (2)�� Notwithstanding any
provision of subsection a. of this section or any other law to the contrary,
for a member who participated, whether or not under orders or instruction by an
employer to so participate, in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
operations for a minimum of eight hours, permanent and total disability
resulting from a qualifying condition or impairment of health shall be presumed
to have occurred during and as a result of the performance of the member's
regular or assigned duties and not the result of the member's willful
negligence, unless the contrary can be proved by competent evidence.

���� A member who did not
participate in such operations for a minimum of eight hours shall be eligible
for the presumption provided that:

���� the member participated in the
rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site between
September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2001;

���� the member sustained a
documented physical injury at the World Trade Center site between September 11,
2001 and September 12, 2001 that is a qualifying condition or impairment of
health resulting in a disability to the member that prevented the member from
continuing to participate in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
operations for a minimum of eight hours; and

���� the documented physical injury
that resulted in a disability to the member that prevented the member from
continuing to participate in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
operations for a minimum of eight hours is the qualifying condition or impairment
of health for which the member seeks a presumption under this subsection.

���� In order to be eligible for
the presumption provided under this subsection, a member shall have
successfully passed a physical examination for entry into public service which
failed to disclose evidence of the qualifying condition or impairment of health
that formed the basis for the permanent and total disability.

���� (3)�� A member who
participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations
for a minimum of eight hours and subsequently retired on a service retirement
or an ordinary disability retirement and thereafter incurred a disability
caused by a qualifying condition or impairment of health which the medical
board determines to be caused by participation in World Trade Center rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations shall be eligible to apply to the board of
trustees to have the retiree's retirement allowance recalculated as an
accidental disability retirement allowance for benefit payments on or after the
date of the application, provided the retiree filed an application for such
recalculation within 30 days of the date that the retiree knew or should have
known of the existence of such disability and its relation to the rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations. In order to be eligible for such
recalculation, the retiree shall have successfully passed a physical
examination for entry into public service which failed to disclose evidence of
the qualifying condition or impairment of health that formed the basis for the
disability.

���� (4)�� The board of trustees
shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of
this subsection and shall notify members and retirants in the retirement system
of the enactment of this act, P.L.2019, c.157, within 30 days of enactment.

���� A member or retiree shall not
be eligible for the presumption or recalculation under this subsection unless
within two years of the effective date of this act, P.L.2019, c.157, the member
or retiree files a written and sworn statement with the retirement system on a
form provided by the board of trustees thereof indicating the dates and
locations of service.

���� (5)�� This subsection shall
apply only to: any member or retiree who is or was enrolled in the Public
Employees' Retirement System because the member or retiree did not meet the age
or medical requirements for enrollment in the Police and Firemen's Retirement System
on the basis of the position held; and to any emergency medical technician who
is a member or retiree of the Public Employees' Retirement System. For the
purposes of this paragraph, "emergency medical technician" means a
person trained in basic life support services as defined in section 1 of
P.L.1985, c.351 (C.26:2K-21) and who is certified by the Department of Health
to perform these services.

���� (6)�� This subsection shall
apply regardless of whether the member or retiree, who is otherwise eligible,
was enrolled in the retirement system at the time of participation in World
Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations as specified herein.

����
c.� Notwithstanding any
provision of subsection a. of this section or any other law to the contrary,
for a member identified in paragraph (5) of subsection b. of this section, who
has been diagnosed by a medical professional with Parkinson�s disease, a
permanent and total disability resulting from the disease shall be presumed to
have occurred during and as a result of the performance of the member�s regular
or assigned duties and not the result of the member�s willful negligence,
unless the contrary can be proved by competent evidence.

����
In order to be eligible for
the presumption provided under this subsection, a member shall have
successfully passed a physical examination prior to enrollment which failed to
disclose evidence of Parkinson�s disease that formed the basis for the
permanent and total disability.� The retirement system shall determine the
documents required to prove that the member did not have Parkinson�s disease
prior to enrollment in the retirement system.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.157, s.4)

���� 2.� Section 7 of P.L.1944,
c.255 (C.43:16A-7) is amended to read as follows:

���� 7.� a.� (1)� Upon the written
application by a member in service, by one acting in his behalf or by his
employer any member may be retired on an accidental disability retirement
allowance; provided, that the medical board, after a medical examination of such
member, shall certify that the member is permanently and totally disabled as a
direct result of a traumatic event occurring during and as a result of the
performance of his regular or assigned duties and that such disability was not
the result of the member's willful negligence and that such member is mentally
or physically incapacitated for the performance of his usual duty and of any
other available duty in the department which his employer is willing to assign
to him.� The application to accomplish such retirement must be filed within
five years of the original traumatic event, but the board of trustees may
consider an application filed after the five-year period if it can be factually
demonstrated to the satisfaction of the board of trustees that the disability
is due to the accident and the filing was not accomplished within the five-year
period due to a delayed manifestation of the disability or to other
circumstances beyond the control of the member.

���� (2)�� Upon retirement for
accidental disability, a member shall receive an accidental disability
retirement allowance which shall consist of:

���� (a)�� An annuity which shall
be the actuarial equivalent of his aggregate contributions and

���� (b)�� A pension in the amount
which, when added to the member's annuity, will provide a total retirement
allowance of 2/3 of the member's actual annual compensation for which
contributions were being made at the time of the occurrence of the accident or
at the time of the member's retirement, whichever provides the largest possible
benefit to the member.

���� (3)�� Upon receipt of proper
proofs of the death of a member who has retired on accidental disability
retirement allowance, there shall be paid to such member's beneficiary, an
amount equal to 3 1/2 times the compensation upon which contributions by the
member to the annuity savings fund were based in the last year of creditable
service; provided, however, that if such death shall occur after the member
shall have attained 55 years of age the amount payable shall equal 1/2 of such
compensation instead of 3 1/2 times such compensation.

���� (4)�� Permanent and total
disability resulting from a cardiovascular, pulmonary or musculoskeletal
condition which was not a direct result of a traumatic event occurring in the
performance of duty shall be deemed an ordinary disability.

���� b.��� (1)� For purposes of
this subsection:

���� "Qualifying condition or
impairment of health" includes:

���� diseases of the upper
respiratory tract and mucosae, including conditions such as conjunctivitis,
rhinitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, vocal cord disease, upper airway
hyper-reactivity and tracheo-bronchitis, or a combination of such conditions;

���� diseases of the lower
respiratory tract, including but not limited to bronchitis, asthma, reactive
airway dysfunction syndrome, and different types of pneumonitis, such as
hypersensitivity, granulomatous, or eosinophilic;

���� diseases of the
gastroesophageal tract, including esophagitis and reflux disease, either acute
or chronic, caused by exposure or aggravated by exposure;

���� diseases of the psychological
axis, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or any
combination of such conditions;

���� diseases of the skin such as
contact dermatitis or burns, either acute or chronic in nature, infectious,
irritant, allergic, idiopathic or non-specific reactive in nature, caused by
exposure or aggravated by exposure; and

���� new onset diseases resulting
from exposure as such diseases occurring in the future including cancer,
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asbestos-related disease, heavy metal
poisoning, musculoskeletal disease and chronic psychological disease.

���� "World Trade Center
rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations" means the rescue, recovery, or
cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site between September 11, 2001
and October 11, 2001.

���� "World Trade Center
site" means any location below a line starting from the Hudson River and
Canal Street, east on Canal Street to Pike Street, south on Pike Street to the
East River, and extending to the lower tip of Manhattan.

���� (2)�� Notwithstanding any
provision of subsection a. of this section or any other law to the contrary,
for a member who participated, whether or not under orders or instruction by an
employer to so participate, in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
operations for a minimum of eight hours, permanent and total disability
resulting from a qualifying condition or impairment of health shall be presumed
to have occurred during and as a result of the performance of the member's
regular or assigned duties and not the result of the member's willful
negligence, unless the contrary can be proved by competent evidence.

���� A member who did not
participate in such operations for a minimum of eight hours shall be eligible
for the presumption provided that:

���� the member participated in the
rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations at the World Trade Center site between
September 11, 2001 and September 12, 2001;

���� the member sustained a
documented physical injury at the World

Trade Center site between September
11, 2001 and September 12, 2001 that is a qualifying condition or impairment of
health resulting in a disability to the member that prevented the member from
continuing to participate in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
operations for a minimum of eight hours; and

���� the documented physical injury
that resulted in a disability to the member that prevented the member from
continuing to participate in World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup
operations for a minimum of eight hours is the qualifying condition or impairment
of health for which the member seeks a presumption under this subsection.

���� In order to be eligible for
the presumption provided under this subsection, a member shall have
successfully passed a physical examination for entry into public service which
failed to disclose evidence of the qualifying condition or impairment of health
that formed the basis for the permanent and total disability.

���� (3)�� A member who
participated in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations
for a minimum of eight hours and subsequently retired on a service retirement
or an ordinary disability retirement and thereafter incurred a disability
caused by a qualifying condition or impairment of health which the medical
board determines to be caused by participation in World Trade Center rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations shall be eligible to apply to the board of
trustees to have the retiree's retirement allowance recalculated as an
accidental disability retirement allowance for benefit payments on or after the
date of the application, provided the retiree filed an application for such
recalculation within 30 days of the date that the retiree knew or should have
known of the existence of such disability and its relation to the rescue,
recovery, or cleanup operations. In order to be eligible for such
recalculation, the retiree shall have successfully passed a physical
examination for entry into public service which failed to disclose evidence of
the qualifying condition or impairment of health that formed the basis for the
disability.

���� (4)�� The board of trustees
shall promulgate rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of
this subsection and shall notify members and retirants in the retirement system
of the enactment of this act, P.L.2019, c.157, within 30 days of enactment.

���� A member or retiree shall not
be eligible for the presumption or recalculation under this subsection unless
within two years of the effective date of this act, P.L.2019, c.157, the member
or retiree files a written and sworn statement with the retirement system on a
form provided by the board of trustees thereof indicating the dates and
locations of service.

���� (5)�� This subsection shall
apply regardless of whether the member or retiree, who is otherwise eligible,
was enrolled in the retirement system at the time of participation in World
Trade Center rescue, recovery, or cleanup operations as specified herein.

����
c.� Notwithstanding any
provision of subsection a. of this section or any other law to the contrary,
for a member who has been diagnosed by a medical professional with Parkinson�s disease,
a permanent and total disability resulting from the disease shall be presumed
to have occurred during and as a result of the performance of the member�s
regular or assigned duties and not the result of the member�s willful
negligence, unless the contrary can be proved by competent evidence.

����
In order to be eligible for
the presumption provided under this subsection, a member shall have
successfully passed a physical examination prior to enrollment which failed to
disclose evidence of Parkinson�s disease that formed the basis for the
permanent and total disability. �The retirement system shall determine the
documents required to prove that the member did not have Parkinson�s disease
prior to enrollment in the retirement system.

(cf: P.L.2019, c.157, s.2)

���� 3.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill creates a
presumption for the accidental disability retirement pension in the Public
Employees� Retirement System (PERS) and the Police and Firemen�s Retirement
System (PFRS) that an emergency medical technician, a firefighter, and a police
officer with Parkinson�s disease has the disease as a result of their
employment.�

���� The bill specifies the
presumption is created when an emergency medical technician, a firefighter, and
a police officer exhibited no evidence of Parkinson�s disease at the start of
their enrollment in PERS or PFRS.� An emergency medical technician, a firefighter,
and a police officer who later exhibits symptoms of the disease has a
presumption that the permanent and total disability resulting from the disease
was the result of the performance of regular or assigned duties and was not the
result of the member�s willful negligence.