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A9106 (Lancman) or S6180 (Golden)
Citizen Soldier Salary Act
The bill would address the travesty of city employees being hit by the City with bills in the tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars after returning from Iraq or Afghanistan. New York City’s differential pay system has resulted in hardship in many cases, because it employs a repayment system. New York City employees are given the option of (1) receiving both their military and City salary (with its City health benefits), and then repaying the lesser of the two salaries when they return to their civilian jobs (capped at 10% per month of their civilian salaries), assuring the employee that their total compensation during deployment will be at least equal to their total civilian compensation prior to deployment, or (2) not receiving their City salary at all (and not receive any City health benefits during that period either). N.Y.C. Personnel Order No. 2001/4. The City's differential pay program is structured in such a way the City employees are often required to pay back a significant amount of money when they return from deployment: (1) The City includes in its calculations the housing, food and even hazardous duty allowances received by its employees; (2) The City requires repayment of the gross amount of pay received by its employees (i.e., before taxes), with the result that some are paying to the City more than they actually received in pay; (3) Although City employees can stretch their repayment because they are required to give no more than 10% of their monthly civilian salary towards repayment, the City has demanded that those who have retired from City employment make their entire repayment at once; (4) The City is demanding that if its employee passes away before full repayment has been made, then the employee's family must immediately pay the full amount remaining. These problems are resolved in the current bill.
A9666 (Markey) or S6733 (Maltese)
Line of Duty Widows Cola
Increases certain special accidental death benefits for surviving spouses and children of certain police and fire personnel.
A8559 (Abbate) or S6093 (Maltese)
MTA Fare Waiver for Firefighters
This piece of legislation would permit members of the FDNY to receive a fare waiver on New York City's public transportation system. Firefighters are highly trained in rescue operations, Haz-Mat and terrorism awareness. Recent events in London and Madrid have shown the value of rescue personnel on scene at an emergency in a mass transit system. The presence of firefighters on our mass transit system may serve to prevent a disaster, save lives, or make commuters feel safer. This will greatly benefit the public and provide additional safety for millions of mass transit commuters in this post 9-11 world. NYPD Officers currently receive this benefit and this legislation would grant the same privilege to New York City Firefighters.
A6537 (Abbate) or S3598 (Maltese) - Needs Home Rule
Terminal Leave
This bill would allow members of the New York City Fire Department to take a monetary payment in lieu of Terminal Leave at the rate applicable at the date of retirement. Currently, members of the Fire Department often lose valuable benefits because it is in their best interest to conclude employment in order to maximize their pensions. As a consequence, earned entitlements such as vacation time and terminal leave are forfeited and returned to the City. This is unfair because at the bargaining table the City refuses to recognize these windfalls. We are advocating for our members to receive a cash payment of earned benefits upon retirement. This would also provide an incentive for Firefighters and Fire Officers to remain on active duty.
A10506 (Abbate) or S7517 (Lanza) - Needs Home Rule
Interest on VSF DROP Funds
Terminal Leave
This bill amends section 13-385 of the Administrative Code to require interest to be included in all DROP payments made by the Fire Variable Supplement Fund.
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