title
DISABILITY PENSION PLAN (B)
Ordinance No. 0-06-138
An ordinance of the City of Gainesville, Florida, amending Division 6 of Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances relating to the Disability Pension Plan, relating to definitions, penalties for fraud and deceit, administration, eligibility, benefits, amount of and limitations on and termination of payments, and medical examinations; providing directions to the codifier; providing a severability clause; providing a repealing clause; and providing an immediate effective date.
recommendation
The City Commission adopt the proposed ordinance.
explanation
The City Commission at its meeting on January 8, 2007, authorized the City Attorney to draft and the Clerk of the Commission to advertise the "disability pension plan" changes embodied in this ordinance. These changes have been ratified by the CWA and agreed to by the ATU bargaining representative. Many of these changes are similar to current provisions in other retirement or benefit systems. The general purpose of these amendments is to improve administration and curb abuses while increasing benefits where warranted. With the foregoing in mind, a section by section analysis follows:
Section 1 incorporates concepts utilized in the current Worker's Compensation system, which should make administration of the Plan more familiar to claimants and administrators.
Section 2 of the ordinance provides for enhanced penalties against those who would seek to defraud the system.
Sections 3, 5 and 11 describe management's authority to administer the Plan.
Section 4 generally increases the amount of time an employee must work for the City before they become eligible for a disability benefit (lifetime) for a disability suffered off the job. In recent years an increasing number of very short service employees have claimed entitlement to disability benefits based upon an alleged injury incurred other than while at work.
Section 6 clarifies that if an employee is eligible for a normal retirement based solely on years of service, i.e., twenty (20) years, they are not also eligible for a disability benefit.
Section 7 defines disability in a fashion similar to what is currently provided for under the Worker's Compensation law. It requires proof as to the timing, cause, and "permanency" of the claimed disability, as well as describing the relevant evidence and procedures utilized to determine the merits of the claim.
Section 8 increases the minimum benefit available for line of duty disabilities and lowers the minimum benefit available for other than in line of duty disabilities. Either benefit may be reduced by a portion of City retirement or Social Security disability benefits the employee is receiving or, in the latter case, could readily receive. The maximum dollar amount of disability benefit that can be received is substantially increased, to the extent it is not offset by Worker's Compensation benefits paid by the City.
Section 9 precludes payment of disability benefits for certain causes, including pre-employment conditions or situations in which the applicant makes false representations in regard to prior conditions or injuries.
Section 10 provides for termination or reduction of a disability pension in the event the pensioner recovers in whole or in part from the disability to the extent they may be re-employed by the City, no longer suffer from the "disabling" condition, or the pensioner's then current earnings have become substantial enough to warrant a partial reduction in the disability benefit. This latter case still, however, results in the pensioner receiving higher total income than that initially attributable solely to the disability pension.
This ordinance requires two public hearings. If the ordinance passes on first reading, second and final reading will be held on February 12, 2007.