EXPLANATION: CAPITALS indicate matter added to existing law.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
* WARNING: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL, INTRODUCTORY COPY OF THE BILL.
THE OFFICIAL COPY CONSIDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL IS THE FIRST READER COPY.
INTRODUCTORY*
CITY OF BALTIMORE
COUNCIL BILL
Introduced by: Councilmember D'Adamo
At the request of: Michael P. May, Esq.
Address: 7305 Harford Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21234
Telephone: 410-444-7606
A BILL ENTITLED
AN ORDINANCE concerning
Title
Retirement Systems - Fire and Police Employees - Offset for Workers' Compensation Award
FOR the purpose of excepting a certain class of persons from the provisions requiring pension benefits to be offset by workers' compensation awards; providing for the restoration to these persons of amounts previously offset; and generally relating to benefits under the Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System.
Body
BY repealing and reordaining, with amendments
Article 22 - Retirement Systems
Section(s) 34(l)(1)
Baltimore City Code
(Edition 2000)
Recitals
In 2004 and 2005, the Baltimore Police Department attempted to purge its rolls of light-duty officers. As a direct result of that effort, police officers on light duty, including those who sustained severe line-of-duty injuries and including those who were 100% disabled, were forced involuntarily to retire. In some instances, however, even 100% disabled police officers, notwithstanding their severe and horrific disabilities, continued to provide valuable service to the Baltimore Police Department, to the City of Baltimore, and to the citizens of the City of Baltimore.
When the Baltimore City Administration and the Police Department decided to purge its rolls of light-duty officers, forcing the retirement of even those most severely injured officers, the effect was to cause the workers' compensation awards received by those horribly injured police officers to be subject to recoupment.
The recoupment process has already started, thus diminishing the retirement checks of those horribly disabled police officers who had been forced to retire involuntarily. No amount of money can adequately compensate the blinded, maimed, lame, and brain-injured police officers qualifying for 100% disability.
The recoupment of the workers' compensation awards was an unanticipated and unintended consequence of the effort on the part of the Administration and the Police Department to purge its rolls of light-duty officers. That unanticipated, unintended, and unconscionable consequence must be corrected promptly.
SECTION 1. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE, That the Laws of Baltimore City read as follows:
Baltimore City Code
Article 22. Retirement Systems
Subtitle - Fire and Police Employees' Retirement System
§ 34. Benefits.
(l) Pensions offset by compensation benefits.
(1) Scope of subsection.
(A) [This] EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS PARAGRAPH (1), THIS subsection (L) applies to an employee or the beneficiary of an employee who:
(I) [(A)] became a member of this system after July 1, 1970;
(II) [(B)] on account of a disability or death, was awarded a benefit paid by the City under the State Workers' Compensation Law; and
(III) [(C)] on account of the same disability or death, was awarded a disability or death benefit from this System.
(B) THUS SUBSECTION (L) DOES NOT APPLY TO AN EMPLOYEE WHO WAS AWARDED A 100% LINE-OF-DUTY DISABILITY BENEFIT FROM THIS SYSTEM.
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, That all money previously deducted, offset, or otherwise collected under Article 22, § 34(l), from persons described in § 34(l)(1)(B), as added by this Ordinance, shall immediately be restored to those persons.
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, That the catchlines contained in this Ordinance are not law and may not be considered to have been enacted as a part of this or any prior Ordinance.
SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED, That this Ordinance takes effect on the 30th day after the date it is enacted.
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