Bill > A08725

This bill amends the retirement and social security law to expand disability retirement benefits for airport firefighters by adding two key presumptions. First, the bill expands the types of cancer that are presumed to be work-related to include cancers affecting the endocrine and thyroid systems, meaning that if an airport firefighter develops these types of cancer and passes a pre-employment physical exam that did not reveal the condition, the cancer will be presumed to be job-related. Second, the bill creates a new presumption for Parkinson's Disease, stating that if an airport firefighter develops this condition and passed a pre-employment physical exam that did not show evidence of the disease, it will be considered job-related. In both cases, the firefighter would be eligible for a performance of duty disability retirement allowance, unless contrary evidence can be proven. The bill allows firefighters who are eligible for service retirement to simultaneously file for service retirement without prejudicing their disability retirement application. The changes apply to airport firefighter apprentices, airport firefighters (levels I-III), and training and safety officers, and the bill takes effect immediately. The fiscal note indicates that this could increase disability and death classifications as "accidental" and would have associated costs shared by the State of New York and participating employers in the retirement system.

Labor and Employment

https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/A8725