35 IAC 2-5-5 - 1977 Police Officers' and Firefighters' Pension and Disability Fund disability procedures
Authority: IC 5-10.5-4-2; IC 36-8-8-5
Affected: IC 4-21.5; IC 36-8-8-12.5; IC 36-8-8-13.5
Sec. 5.
(a) The
disability application process shall be as described as follows:
(1) The local board shall submit to the state
board the following documents:
(A) A completed
disability application form that includes the following:
(i) The member's name, address, and Social
Security number.
(ii) The date of
the local board's hearing.
(iii)
The date the local board determined a covered impairment exists.
The local board shall use the applicable forms developed by the state board for this purpose.
(B) The applicable form developed by the
state board shall require the following:
(i)
The local board to submit its determinations, including findings of fact, with
regard to the existence of a covered impairment and the class of impairment for
a fund member who was hired for the first time after
December 31, 1989, or who had elected coverage under IC 36-8-8-12.5 and IC 36-8-8-13.5 (Class 1 duty related injury, Class 2 duty related disease, and Class 3 all other covered impairments).
(ii) A copy of the written job description
for the member's position.
(iii) A
statement from the local board that certifies that the member cannot perform
the essential functions of the job as reflected on the written job description
by identifying the specific functions the member is incapable of
performing.
(iv) A statement from
the appointing authority that certifies that there is no suitable and available
work in the member's department for which the member is or may be capable of
becoming qualified, considering reasonable accommodations to the extent
required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(v) The local board's findings with respect
to self-inflicted injury, attempted suicide, commission of felony, or
preexisting conditions.
(vi) The
local board's determination on whether the impairment resulted from an
accidental injury.
(vii) A
statement that certifies that the local board's decision was communicated, in
writing, to the fund member and the appointing authority.
(C) A transcript of the local board's
hearing. The transcript should be signed by the person doing the transcription
and by the pension secretary reflecting that the transcript is a true and
accurate report of the testimony and exhibits presented during the local
board's hearing.
(D) Copies of all
exhibits accepted by the local pension board. These exhibits would include the
medical evaluations of the fund member. Tests and examination results must be
included.
(E) Certification by the
appointing authority or the local board with regard to the fund member's last
day of pay (including the last payment for any type and all forms of paid
leave).
(F) Certification by the
appointing authority of years of service.
(2) Unless the application is complete, the
1977 Fund will not accept the application. If the application is not accepted,
the 1977 Fund shall do the following:
(A)
Determine whether the file is complete.
(B) Send a letter to the local board stating
that either a complete file has been received or the file is incomplete and
will not be accepted until the specified items have been received by the 1977
Fund. If the file is incomplete, the 1977 Fund will send a letter stating the
file is complete after all previously specified items have been received by the
1977 Fund.
(C) Once a completed
file is accepted, the 1977 Fund will give the completed file to the medical
authority.
(3) The PERF
board or its duly authorized representative will make an initial determination
within sixty (60) days from the date the complete application is received by
the 1977 Fund unless there is a delay attributable to the fund member or the
appointing authority. The initial determination by the PERF board for members
who were hired for the first time after December 31, 1989, or who had elected
coverage under IC 36-8-8-12.5 and IC 36-8-8-13.5, shall include a determination
of class of impairment and degree of impairment. In making this determination,
the 1977 Fund shall treat a member as first hired using the member's first date
of employment with the local unit where the member is currently employed.
However, in the case of a fund member who directly transferred from covered
employment with one (1) local unit to covered employment with another local
unit, the fund member's date of employment with the first local unit shall be
used. If the application is not accepted, the 1977 Fund shall do the following:
(A) The 1977 Fund will not consider the sixty
(60) day period to begin until a completed file is accepted.
(B) The initial determination will be mailed,
by certified mail return receipt requested, to the member, the local board, and
the appointing authority. An appeal of the initial determination must be filed
within fifteen (15) days after receiving written notice of the initial
determination pursuant to IC 4-21.Sec. 5.
(C) If the PERF board or its duly authorized
representative does not make an initial determination within sixty (60) days
and if the delay is not attributable to the fund member or the appointing
authority, the local board's determination, or the fund member's statement in
the case of an appeal of a local board determination, shall constitute the PERF
board's initial determination. A letter confirming this initial determination
shall be sent by the 1977 Fund to the local board, the fund member, and the
appointing authority.
(D) The
letter communicating the PERF board's initial determination shall inform the
parties of the time limit on filing objections and shall clearly state that, if
no objections are filed, the initial determination shall automatically become
the state board's final order.
(4) If no objection to the PERF board's
initial determination is filed with the 1977 Fund within fifteen (15) days
after the date of the PERF board's initial determination letter, the PERF
board's initial determination shall become the PERF board's final
order.
(5) If a timely objection to
the PERF board's initial determination is filed, the 1977 Fund shall follow an
internal hearing procedure. The 1977 Fund shall notify the member if the appeal
is not timely. Such notice will indicate that the initial determination
automatically became the PERF board's final order.
(6) After receiving a timely objection to the
initial determination, the 1977 Fund shall designate a hearing officer to
review the case. The hearing officer must make a recommendation to the 1977
Fund with regard to a final decision within sixty (60) days after the hearing.
The hearing will be recorded and a transcript prepared.
(7) Based upon the complete record and the
recommendation from the hearing officer, the PERF board shall issue a final
order. The PERF board may accept, but shall not be required to accept, the
hearing officer's recommendation as its final order. The final order will be
communicated in a letter, sent certified mail return receipt requested, to the
fund member, the local board, and the appointing authority. In addition, the
PERF board may do the following:
(A) The PERF
board may request or accept additional information before issuing a final
determination.
(B) The PERF board
shall issue a final order within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date
the complete application is received by the 1977 Fund unless there is a delay
attributable to the fund member or the appointing authority. If an order is not
issued within one hundred eighty (180) days and if the delay is not
attributable to the fund member or the appointing authority, the initial
determination statements shall constitute the PERF board's final order.
(b) The
review of a fund member's impairment may be initiated by the 1977 Fund, the
fund member, the safety board, or the local board. The review shall follow the
procedure for disability applications. The cost of any medical examination
required by the local board shall be paid by the party who petitioned for
review.
(c) Requirements for
recovered disabilitants shall be as follows:
(1) If there is a final determination that a
disabilitant has recovered, the 1977 Fund shall solicit a certification from
the local authorities with regard to the existence of suitable and available
work on the police or fire department.
(2) Benefits will be terminated if suitable
and available work on the police or fire department has been offered to the
member. Benefits shall terminate in such a case regardless of the member's
decision to accept or reject the employment offer from the police or fire
department.
(3) A recovered member
returning to the same department will not be treated as a new applicant and
will not be subjected to the application process for new members in the
fund.
(4) In the event a member
recovers from a covered impairment, returns to active service with the police
or fire department, and becomes unable to perform all suitable and available
work on the police or fire department within two (2) years of returning to
active duty due to a covered impairment that is based on the same condition or
conditions for which disability benefits were previously paid to the member,
the member shall be entitled to receive monthly disability benefits equal to
the amount of the monthly disability benefits that were paid to the member at
the time of the member's return to active service plus any applicable cost of
living adjustments.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.