9/11 Responders' Unlimited Sick Leave Benefit

1.   COVERAGE: DC37 members in active status who were required through their job to participate in the World Trade Center "rescue, recovery, or cleanup." See section 4 below.

2.   TIMING: DCAS will be issuing implementation guidelines to agencies shortly.

3.   BENEFITS:

  • Retroactive: members in active status who have gone on leave for a qualifying WTC condition in the past will have this leave time reimbursed, retroactive to 9/11/2001, as follows:
    • Sick and unpaid leave time will be restored/reimbursed as sick leave time at a 1:1 rate of pay.
    • Annual leave time will be restored as annual leave time, or if the member chooses, up to the first 175 hours of annual leave time can be reimbursed at the current rate in a one-time, lump sum cash payment, with any remainder reimbursed as annual leave.
    • Going Forward: upon implementation, people who need to take leave for a qualifying condition will be able to take unlimited sick leave until they are healthy enough to return to work, without first using their accrued sick or annual leave.
    • Terminal Leave Impact: The sick time that a member receives and uses for a qualifying condition cannot be cashed out as terminal leave upon retirement. Annual leave may be cashed out as usual.

4. ELIGIBILITY requires that the following conditions are met:

  • Member was required through their job to participate in the World Trade Center "rescue, recovery, or cleanup," as defined in Section 2 of the NYS Retirement and Social Security Law.
  • Member has verified their participation by filing a "Notice of Participation" from the NYC Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS). If they haven't yet, members should do so right away in order to be enrolled in this benefit as soon as possible. This is done by completing and submitting NYCERS form 622, available online at: https://www.nycers.org/sites/main/files/file­attachments/622.pdf
  • Subsequent to participation in the rescue, recovery, or cleanup, member contracted a "Qualifying World Trade Center Condition" as defined in Section 2 of the NYS Retirement and Social Security Law, as certified by a qualifying WTC Health Program physician. Such diagnoses shall be obtained as follows:
    • Non EMS members: requires certification of the condition at a WTC Clinical Center of Excellence or NYC Health + Hospitals WTC Environmental Health Center. Centers may be found at: https://www.cdc.gov/wtc/clinics.html (excludes FDNY centers).
    • EMS members only: requires certification of the condition by an FDNY BHS WTC­qualified doctor. EMS members with previous diagnoses from non FDNY clinics may continue seeing other WTC Clinical Center of Excellence, or NYC Health + Hospitals WTC Environmental Health Center doctors for ongoing conditions by providing a federal certification letter confirming their diagnosis of a qualifying WTC condition.

Prepared by the Department of Research and Negotiations, District Council 37, AFSCME, AFL-CIO November 2018