Workers' Compensation Benefit
13.1(a) Effective on the date of execution of this Agreement, employees with Attendance Rules coverage who are necessarily absent from duty because of an occupational injury, disease or condition as defined in the Workers' Compensation Law shall be eligible for a Workers' Compensation Benefit as modified in this Article. This Article does not diminish employees' rights under the Workers' Compensation Law. Determinations of the Workers' Compensation Board regarding compensability of claims shall be binding upon the parties.
(b) A workers' compensation injury shall mean any occupational injury, disease or condition found compensable as defined in the Workers' Compensation Law.
13.2 An employee who suffers a compensable occupational injury shall be placed on leave of absence without pay for all absences necessitated by such injury and shall receive the benefit provided by the Workers' Compensation Law.
13.3 Medical Evaluation Network
(a) Effective July 1, 1993, a statewide network of evaluating physicians will be selected by the State Insurance Fund, which will act as the third party administrator for the PS&T Medical Evaluation Network. Employees who elect to participate in the Medical Evaluation Network Program shall attend all scheduled medical exams. Medical Evaluation Network physicians make determinations on an employee's degree of disability and prognosis for full recovery. Eligible employees who elect to participate in the Medical Evaluation Network Program shall be placed on leave without pay and will receive the benefits provided by the Workers' Compensation Law and the added benefits provided by this Article. Such employees shall also be eligible for a mandatory alternate duty assignment pursuant to Section 13.5. Employees who elect not to participate in the Medical Evaluation Network Program will receive only the benefits provided by Section 13.2.
(b) Employees electing to participate in the Medical Evaluation Network Program may be eligible for payments, for a period not to exceed nine months per injury, in addition to the statutory wage benefit provided pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Law. Supplemental payments will be paid to employees whose disability is classified by the evaluating physicians as "total" or "marked," and where a Workers' Compensation Law wage payment is less than 60 percent of pre-disability wages, so that the total of the statutory payment and the supplemental payment provided by this Article equals 60 percent of their pre-disability gross wages. The pre-disability gross wages are defined as the sum of base annual salary, location pay, geographic differential, shift differential and inconvenience pay, received as of the date of the disability.
(c) The appointing authority will assume that all eligible employees have elected to participate in the Medical Evaluation Network Program unless the employee submits in writing a statement which clearly states his/her election to not participate in the Program, as soon after the accident as possible.
(d) An employee necessarily absent for less than a full day in connection with a
workers' compensation injury as defined in 13.3(a) due to therapy, a doctor's appointment, or other required continuing treatment, may charge accrued leave for said absences.
(e) The State will make previously authorized payroll deductions for periods the employee is receiving salary sufficient to permit such deductions. The employee is responsible for making payment for any such deductions whenever salary is insufficient to permit these deductions, for example, during periods of leave without pay, such as those provided in 13.2 and 13.3(a) above.
(f) An employee required to serve a waiting period pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Law shall have the option of using accrued leave credits or being placed on leave without pay. Where an employee charged credits and it is subsequently determined that no waiting period is required, the employee shall be entitled to restoration of credits charged proportional to the net monetary award credited to New York State by the Workers' Compensation Board or 60 percent of pre-disability gross wages as defined in 13.3(b) of this Section, whichever is greater.
(g) When vacation credits are restored pursuant to this Article and such restoration causes the total vacation credits to exceed 40 days, a period of one year from the date of the return of the credits or the date of return to work, whichever is later, is allowed to reduce the total accumulation to 40 days.
(h) An employee receiving Workers' Compensation payments for a period of disability found compensable by the Workers' Compensation Board shall be treated as though on the payroll for the length of the disability, not to exceed 12 months per injury, for the sole purposes of accruing seniority, continuous service, vacation, sick leave, and personal leave. Additionally, such employee shall be treated as though on payroll for the period of disability, not to exceed 12 months per injury, for the purposes of health insurance, retirement service credit and retirement contributions. Effective July 1, 2008, an employee receiving Workers’ Compensation payments for a period of disability found compensable by the Workers’ Compensation Board, which is caused by an assault, shall be treated as though on the payroll for the length of the disability not to exceed twenty-four (24) months per injury for the sole purpose of health insurance. (i) An employee whose disability exceeds the 12 month entitlement afforded by this Article shall not be allowed to use accumulated leave credits. (j) If an employee's Workers' Compensation claim is controverted by the State Insurance Fund upon the ground that the disability did not arise out of or in the course of employment, the employee may utilize leave credits (including sick leave at half-pay) pending a determination by the Workers' Compensation Board. (l) If the employee was in leave without pay status pending determination of a controverted or contested claim, and the claim is decided in the employee's favor, the employee shall receive the benefits pursuant to this Section for the period covered by the award, not to exceed the time limits set forth in this Section per injury.13.4(a) If the date of the disabling incident is prior to April 1, 1986, the benefits available shall be as provided in the 1982-85 State/PEF Agreement.
(b) If the date of the disabling incident is on or after April 1, 1986 and prior to July 1, 1993, the benefits available shall be as provided in the 1988-91 State/PEF Agreement.
(c) If the date of the disabling incident is on or after July 1, 1993 and prior to April 2, 1995, the benefits available shall be as provided in the 1991-95 State/PEF Agreement.
(d) If the
date of the disabling incident is on or after April 2, 1995, the benefits shall be as provided
herein. If the date of the
disabling incident is on or after April 2, 1995 and prior to July 1, 2008, the
benefits available shall be as provided in the 2003-2007 State/PEF Agreement.
(e) If the date of the disabling incident is on or after July 1, 2008, the benefits shall be as provided herein.
13.5 Mandatory Alternate Duty
(a) A mandatory alternate duty policy shall be established that allows management to recall an employee to duty and allows an eligible employee to request a return to duty subject to meeting the eligibility criteria. During the period of the alternate duty, the employee will receive regular full salary.
(b) Only employees who have elected to participate in the Medical Evaluation Network are eligible for Mandatory Alternate Duty. In addition, an employee is eligible when his/her disability is classified at 50 percent or less by the State Insurance Fund and he/she has a prognosis of full recovery within 60 calendar days.
(c) Mandatory alternate duty assignments shall be based upon medical documentation satisfactory to management. The issue of medical documentation is not reviewable under Article 34 of this Agreement.
(d) Mandatory alternate duty assignments shall be for up to 60 calendar days per injury and may be extended at management's discretion.
(e) If no such alternate duty assignment is available, the employee will receive the wage benefit he/she would have received pursuant to Section 13.3(b) if the disability was classified as "total" for the period the employee qualified for alternate duty not to exceed 60 calendar days.
(f) An employee who refuses an alternate duty assignment will continue on leave and receive the wage benefit deemed appropriate pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Law.
(g) Mandatory alternate duty assignments shall reflect the employee's physical limitations. Such assignments may include tasks that can be performed by the employee but that are outside of the employee's salary grade, title series or normal job duties. Such assignments shall not be considered to constitute out-of-title work and may result in changes in the employee's workday, workweek, work schedule and/or work location.
(h) When the employee's mandatory alternate duty assignment expires, the employee who has fully recovered will return to his/her regular position. If the disability continues beyond the 60 days, the employee may request an extension of the assignment. If the extension is not granted by management, the employee shall receive only the statutory wage benefit appropriate to his/her level of disability.
(i) The mandatory alternate duty assignment may be terminated prior to its expiration date if it is determined that the employee is able to return to his/her regular assignment.
13.6(a) The State and PEF shall establish a committee whose
purpose shall include, but not be limited to, reviewing and making
recommendations on the following: (1) the effects of the implementation and
administration of the Workers' Compensation statutory benefit; (2) the implementation
of the parties’ mutual
concerns regarding employee awareness of eligibility for the Mandatory Alternate Duty
Program; (3) the accident and injury data focusing on incidence of injuries or
accidents in order to develop prevention strategies and means to reduce and/or
eliminate the risk of on-the-job injury.