- 6 -
time of his total and permanent disability". Section 11A(a) of
the City ordinance, "Administration of Disability Payments",
provides that "The determination of the disability from any cause
shall be made upon the basis of reports on examinations made by
three physicians".
Interpretation of the Ordinance
Petitioner argues that the Rhode Island Supreme Court has
interpreted the ordinance as providing benefits only to those
firefighters incurring "duty-connected" disabilities. Petitioner
cites St. Germain v. City of Pawtucket, 382 A.2d 180 (R.I. 1978),
as the basis for his position. The issue in the case was whether
a disabled City firefighter was covered by the general State
statute that provides full pay for work-related injuries or by
the state authorized, but specific City ordinance providing for
reduced pay for disabled firefighters. In proceeding to decide
that the general statute applied only to those "various cities
and towns that do not have their own pension plans", the State
Supreme Court described the City ordinance as follows:
In 1973 defendant passed chapter 1406, an ordinance
that revised the existing pension plan and provided in
part that upon incurring a duty-connected disability, a
firefighter would receive a percentage of his pay for
the duration of the disability or until he reached
normal retirement age, at which time he would be
transferred to the retirement list and receive normal
retirement benefits. [Id., at 181; emphasis added.]
It is this language that petitioner apparently relies
upon for his characterization of the court's "interpretation" of
the City ordinance.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Next
Last modified: May 25, 2011