[Adopted 8-10-2009 by Res. No. 311-2009]
Pursuant to General Municipal Law § 207-c, salary,
wages, medical and hospital expenses of County police officers (including
the Albany County Sheriff, Undersheriff, Deputy Sheriffs and Correction
Officers) are paid by the County when the employee's injury or illness
is incurred in the performance of their duties. These § 207-c
benefits have been deemed by the New York Court of Appeals to be a
property interest giving rise to procedural due process protection.
While the County has a right under General Municipal Law § 207-c
to have an independent medical examination of the injured or ill employee
collecting § 207-c benefits to determine whether or not
the employee may be fit to return to their regular work assignment
or a light-duty assignment and if the employee is determined to be
fit to return it shall be the policy of Albany County to accommodate
the employee's due process rights by affording the employee a period
of 30 days from notice to the employee to submit a report of a personal
physician expressing a contrary opinion as to the employee's fitness
to return to their regular work assignment or to a light-duty assignment,
and if the employee does submit a report of a personal physician expressing
a contrary opinion, then the § 207-c benefits shall continue
for the employee until such time as a hearing may result in a determination
that the employee is fit to return to their regular or a light-duty
assignment.
In the event that the employee collecting General Municipal
Law § 207-c benefits is determined by the County's independent
medical examination to be fit to return to their regular work assignment
or a light-duty assignment and the employee does not submit a report
of a personal physician expressing a contrary opinion within 30 days
from the notice to the employee, then the employee's § 207-c
benefits shall be terminated upon the expiration of the thirty-day
period if the employee does not return to their regular or light-duty
work assignment.
While the County also has the right under General Municipal
Law § 207-c to terminate the benefits of any County employee
collecting § 207-c benefits if the County employee has failed
to comply with any administrative requirement of the County, the employee's
§ 207-c benefits shall be terminated for failing to comply
with an administrative requirement of the County only after the County
has provided 30 days' notice to the employee of the administrative
requirement of the County and the failure of the employee to comply
with the administrative requirement within the thirty-day period.
Compliance with the aforementioned procedures shall be a policy
of Albany County until such time as this policy may be modified by
directive of the Albany County Legislature.
