Conn. Gen. Stat. § 5-142

Current with legislation from the 2024 Regular and Special Sessions.

Section 5-142 - Disability compensation

(a) If any member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection or of any correctional institution, or any institution or facility of the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services giving care and treatment to persons afflicted with a mental disorder or disease, or any institution for the care and treatment of persons afflicted with any mental defect, or any full-time enforcement officer of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Consumer Protection who carries out the duties and responsibilities of sections 30-2 to 30-68m, inclusive, Adult Probation Services, the division within the Department of Administrative Services that carries out construction services or the Board of Pardons and Paroles, any probation officer for juveniles or any employee of any juvenile detention home, any member of the police or fire security force of The University of Connecticut, any member of the police or fire security force of Bradley International Airport, any member of the Office of State Capitol Police or any person appointed under section 29-18 as a special policeman for the State Capitol building and grounds and the Legislative Office Building and parking garage and related structures and facilities and other areas under the supervision and control of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management, the Chief State's Attorney, the Chief Public Defender, the Deputy Chief State's Attorney, the Deputy Chief Public Defender, any state's attorney, any assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney, any public defender, assistant public defender or deputy assistant public defender, any chief inspector or inspector appointed under section 51-286 or any staff member or employee of the Division of Criminal Justice or of the Division of Public Defender Services, or any Judicial Department employee sustains any injury (1) while making an arrest or in the actual performance of such police duties or guard duties or fire duties or inspection duties, or prosecution or public defender or courthouse duties, or while attending or restraining an inmate of any such institution or as a result of being assaulted in the performance of such person's duty, or while responding to an emergency or code at a correctional institution, and (2) that is a direct result of the special hazards inherent in such duties, the state shall pay all necessary medical and hospital expenses resulting from such injury. If total incapacity results from such injury, such person shall be removed from the active payroll the first day of incapacity, exclusive of the day of injury, and placed on an inactive payroll. Such person shall continue to receive the full salary that such person was receiving at the time of injury subject to all salary benefits of active employees, including annual increments, and all salary adjustments, including salary deductions, required in the case of active employees, for a period of two hundred sixty weeks from the date of the beginning of such incapacity. Thereafter, such person shall be removed from the payroll and shall receive compensation at the rate of fifty per cent of the salary that such person was receiving at the expiration of said two hundred sixty weeks as long as such person remains so disabled, except that any such person who is a member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall receive compensation at the rate of sixty-five per cent of such salary as long as such person remains so disabled. Such benefits shall be payable to a member of the Division of State Police after two hundred sixty weeks of disability only if the member elects in writing to receive such benefits in lieu of any benefits payable to the employee under the state employees retirement system. In the event that such disabled member of the Division of State Police elects the compensation provided under this subsection, no benefits shall be payable under chapter 568 or the state employees retirement system until the former of the employee's death or recovery from such disability. The provisions of section 31-293 shall apply to any such payments, and the state of Connecticut is authorized to bring an action or join in an action as provided by said section for reimbursement of moneys paid and which it is obligated to pay under the terms of this subsection. All other provisions of the workers' compensation law not inconsistent with this subsection, including the specific indemnities and provisions for hearing and appeal, shall be available to any such state employee or the dependents of such a deceased employee. All payments of compensation made to a state employee under this subsection shall be charged to the appropriation provided for compensation awards to state employees. On and after October 1, 1991, any full-time officer of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Department of Consumer Protection who carries out the duties and responsibilities of sections 30-2 to 30-68m, inclusive, Adult Probation Services, the division within the Department of Administrative Services that carries out construction services or the Board of Pardons and Paroles, any probation officer for juveniles or any employee of any juvenile detention home, the Chief State's Attorney, the Chief Public Defender, the Deputy Chief State's Attorney, the Deputy Chief Public Defender, any state's attorney, assistant state's attorney or deputy assistant state's attorney, any public defender, assistant public defender or deputy assistant public defender, any chief inspector or inspector appointed under section 51-286 or any staff member or employee of the Division of Criminal Justice or the Division of Public Defender Services, or any Judicial Department employee who sustains any injury in the course and scope of such person's employment shall be paid compensation in accordance with the provisions of section 5-143 and chapter 568, except, if such injury is sustained as a result of being assaulted in the performance of such person's duty, any such person shall be compensated pursuant to the provisions of this subsection.

(b) Each state employee who, during the performance of his duties, comes into contact with persons or animals afflicted with any communicable disease, or who comes into contact with any culture, collection or concentration of the organisms producing any communicable disease, or who is regularly exposed to the bacteria, germs, virus or other organisms, by whatever name called, producing any communicable disease, shall be given a physical examination semiannually by the state. If any such employee is found to be infected with any such disease, contracted while in the employ of the state and during the performance of such employee's duties, the state shall pay for all necessary medical and hospital expenses resulting from such disease and, if incapacity results, such employee shall be removed from the payroll the first day of incapacity and shall receive compensation at the rate of one-half the salary he was receiving at the time of infection. Such state employee may elect to receive, in addition to the benefits due him under this subsection, an amount which will result in his receiving his full salary or wages for the period of any accumulated sick leave, computed on an hourly basis, due him. Upon the expiration of such period of sick leave, the provisions of this subsection shall apply. All provisions of the workers' compensation law not inconsistent herewith, including the specific indemnities and provisions for hearing and appeal, shall be available to any such state employee or the dependents of such a deceased employee. All payments of compensation made to a state employee under this section shall be made from the fund designated "Compensation Awards to State Employees". If a state employee has been disabled by tuberculosis at any time prior to his employment by the state or if on the first physical examination herein provided for he is found to have a tuberculous lesion, any subsequent disability from tuberculosis within five years of the commencement of such employment shall be presumed prima facie to be due to his previous infection and not to have been contracted in the course of such employment, even if such employment involved exposure to tuberculosis. In such case such state employee shall be removed from the payroll the first day of incapacity and the state shall not be liable for the payment of any resulting medical or hospital expenses or for the payment of compensation for loss of earnings of such disabled state employee.

(c) If a member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection who is not subject to the federal Insurance Contributions Act for such employment becomes or became disabled on or after July 1, 1979, and (1) the disability is not compensable under the terms of subsection (a) of this section and he elects or elected to receive disability retirement benefits under the provisions of section 5-169 or 5-192p, or (2) he elects or elected to receive such disability retirement benefits in lieu of benefits otherwise available under subsection (a) of this section, the member shall be eligible to receive benefits under the provisions of subsection (d) of this section. Notwithstanding any provision of the general statutes, the benefits granted under subsection (d) of this section shall be deemed to be federal Social Security disability benefits for purposes of calculating the maximum benefits available under the provisions of section 5-169 or 5-192p. Any disability Social Security benefits payable to or on behalf of such member shall also be recognized for purposes of calculating such maximum benefits. For the purposes of this subsection, "disability" means any medically determinable injury or physical or mental impairment which permanently prevents the discharge of normal police functions by any member of the Division of State Police, provided the Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection cannot find a suitable position within the agency for such member. The determination as to whether a member is so disabled shall be made by the board of physicians established under section 5-169. Notwithstanding any provisions to the contrary in section 5-169, the maximum benefit limitation as set forth in subdivisions (1) and (2) of subsection (g) of section 5-169 shall apply to any member receiving the new benefits provided by subsection (d) of this section.

(d) Commencing on May 8, 1984, or the date of disability, if later, each such disabled member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall receive a monthly allowance payable by the state employees retirement system, as long as the member remains so disabled, as follows:

(1) To a disabled member, a monthly allowance of three hundred dollars for such disabled member's lifetime;

(2) if such disabled member is married, an additional monthly allowance of two hundred fifty dollars payable to the member and payable for the member's lifetime or until the spouse's divorce from the member;

(3) if there are less than three dependent children, a monthly allowance of two hundred fifty dollars payable to the member for each child until each such child reaches the age of eighteen or until the child's marriage if such occurs earlier;

(4) if there are three or more dependent children, a monthly allowance of five hundred and seventy-five dollars payable to the member but deemed to be divided equally among them. As each such dependent child reaches the age of eighteen years, or marries, if such occurs earlier, the child's share shall be deemed divided equally among the remaining surviving children, provided each child's share shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars; when the shares payable on behalf of all but one of such dependent children have ceased, the disability benefit payable on behalf of the remaining child shall be two hundred fifty dollars. These benefits shall be integrated with the benefits of section 5-169 or 5-192p as if they were federal Social Security disability benefits in order to determine the maximum benefits payable to such disabled member. These benefits shall be subject to increases as provided in subsection (e) of this section. All benefits provided under this subsection shall be discontinued at the earlier of the member's recovery from disability or the member's death. If a disabled member dies, the survivor benefits provided under sections 5-146 to 5-150, inclusive, shall be payable.

(e) On January 1, 1985, and annually thereafter, up to and including January 1, 1988, the benefits then being provided under subsection (d) of this section to a disabled member of the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection shall be increased by three per cent. Such increase shall not affect the initial level of benefits payable to a member who qualifies for such disability benefits under subsection (d) after the date of any increase under this subsection. Such benefits shall be deemed to be the cost-of-living provision of the federal Social Security disability law for purposes of calculating the maximum benefits available under the provisions of section 5-169 or 5-192p.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 5-142

(1949 Rev., S. 419; 1949, 1951, 1953, 1955, S. 183d; 1949, 1953, S. 2131d; 1957, P.A. 251; March, 1958, P.A. 27, S. 35; 1959, P.A. 331; 1963, P.A. 298; February, 1965, P.A. 151; 1969, P.A. 175, S. 1; 730, S. 14; P.A. 73-122, S. 13, 27; 73-402; P.A. 76-111, S. 5; 76-436, S. 399, 681; P.A. 77-614, S. 69, 70, 165, 486, 610; P.A. 78-138, S. 1-3; 78-162, S. 1-3; P.A. 79-376, S. 3; P.A. 80-34, S. 1, 2; 80-482, S. 4, 6, 170, 191, 345, 348; P.A. 83-13, S. 5; P.A. 84-48, S. 13, 17; P.A. 85-510, S. 2, 35; P.A. 87-496, S. 43, 110; P.A. 89-82, S. 7, 11; P.A. 91-339 , S. 40 ; P.A. 95-195 , S. 5 , 83 ; 95-257 , S. 11 , 58 ; P.A. 96-219 , S. 6 ; P.A. 01-208 , S. 1 , 3 ; P.A. 03-19 , S. 10 ; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146 (d); P.A. 04-169 , S. 17 ; 04-189 , S. 1 ; 04-234 , S. 2 ; P.A. 05-288 , S. 25 ; P.A. 06-196 , S. 33 ; P.A. 11-51 , S. 90 , 134 ; 11-80 , S. 1 ; P.A. 13-247 , S. 216 .)

Amended by P.A. 22-0026, S. 60 of the Connecticut Acts of the 2022 Regular Session, eff. 5/10/2022.

Reactivation of tuberculosis constituted contraction of disease within meaning of statute. 138 C. 620 . Cited. 175 C. 424 ; 220 C. 721 ; 221 C. 29 ; Id., 41. Cited. 16 CA 65 . Subsec. (a): Special benefits conferred by section not an obstacle to greater recovery under Sec. 31-307 . 220 Conn. 721 . Recovery of either salary benefits under section or workers' compensation benefits, including right to receive concurrent employment benefits, under Sec. 31-310 discussed. Id., 739. Only required that claimant be in actual performance of police or guard duties, not proof that duties were themselves hazardous. 16 Conn.App. 65 . "Salary" limited to base salary excluding previously paid overtime, shift differential or maintenance allowance. 29 CA 559 . Workers' compensation review board properly reversed decision of workers' compensation commissioner in determining that correction officer was neither restraining an inmate nor injured by a special hazard inherent in his guard duties when inmate stepped out of shower, slipped on floor, and grabbed the officer to break his fall. 67 CA 330 . A special hazard inherent in the job, for purposes of satisfying Subsec., is a heightened danger or peril that sometimes arises in performing the enumerated jobs, other than the general hazard always present in those jobs, or present in events involving the general populace. 99 CA 808 . Provision allowing disabled Judicial Department employees to collect their salaries for up to 5 years does not require payment once disability is overcome or confer authority to reinstate employee who fully recovers after being separated from state service pursuant to Sec. 5-244 . 144 CA 299 .

See Sec. 5-161(f) re retirement contributions and credit for those receiving disability compensation. See Sec. 29-4a re disability of member of Division of State Police resulting from hypertension or heart disease.