(a) Interim Disability Benefits. An Active Member may receive Interim Disability Benefits beginning with the payroll period when the Fund Administrator receives the required application for Service-Connected and Occupational Disability benefits, including a written statement from the Member’s attending physician that the Member is unable to perform the Member’s required duties because of an injury or illness arising out of and in the course of the Member’s employment in the Bureau of Police or Fire. Interim Disability Benefits may be payable until the claim is approved, denied or withdrawn. If the Fund Administrator determines the Member is eligible for service-connected or occupational disability and approves the Member’s application for benefits, disability benefits under Subsections (b), (c) or (d) of this Section will be payable during the period the Member continues to be eligible. If the application for benefits is denied or withdrawn by the Member, Interim Disability Benefits will cease immediately, and the Member shall repay the Fund the total amount of Interim Disability Benefits paid. The Board of Trustees shall provide by Administrative Rule the method of payment and repayment of Interim Disability Benefits.
(b) Eligibility for Service‑Connected Disability Benefit. An Active Member shall be eligible for the service‑connected disability benefit when unable to perform the Member's required duties because of an injury or illness arising out of and in the course of the Member's employment in the Bureau of Police or Fire. The Fund Administrator shall determine the existence of a disability and whether it arises out of and in the course of such employment. A Member shall not be eligible for the service‑ connected disability benefit based on an injury suffered in assaults or combats which are not connected to the job assignment and which amount to a deviation from customary duties or incurred while engaging in, or as the result of engaging in, any recreational or social activities solely for the Member's personal pleasure.
(c) A Member shall not be eligible for the service‑connected disability benefit on the basis of a condition of stress or mental disorder unless:
1. The employment conditions producing the stress or mental disorder exist in a real and objective sense;
2. The employment conditions producing the stress or mental disorder are conditions other than conditions generally inherent in police or fire employment or reasonable disciplinary, corrective, or job performance evaluation actions by the employer, or cessation of employment;
3. There is a diagnosis of a mental or emotional disorder which is generally recognized in the medical or psychological community;
4. There is clear and convincing evidence that the stress or mental disorder arose out of and in the course of employment as an Active Member; and
5. The Member's employment conditions are the primary cause of the stress or mental disorder.
(d) Eligibility for Occupational Disability Benefit. An Active Member shall be eligible for the occupational disability benefit when unable to perform the Member's required duties because of heart disease, hernia of abdominal cavity or diaphragm, AIDS, AIDS‑related complex, tuberculosis, hepatitis B, or pneumonia (except terminal pneumonia). A Member shall not be eligible for an occupational disability benefit because of heart disease unless the Member has five or more Years of Service when the disability arises. The Fund Administrator shall deny an occupational disability benefit if the Fund Administrator determines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the disability was not contracted as a result of service as a police officer or fire fighter. No Member shall be eligible to receive a benefit for an occupational disability incurred while receiving benefits under Section 5‑307, unless such occupational disability is incurred within two years after such Member had commenced and continued to receive benefits under Section 5‑307, or unless such occupational disability is a recurrence of an occupational disability which became disabling and was compensated for under this Section.
(e) Amount of Benefits. During the period the Member continues to be eligible under Subsection (a), (b), (c) or (d) benefits shall be paid as follows:
1. During the first year from the date of disability, the Member shall be paid 75 percent of the Member's rate of Base Pay in effect at disability, reduced by 50 percent of any wages earned in other employment during the period the benefit is payable.
2. The Member shall continue to be paid the benefit described in Paragraph 1 after one year from the date of disability until the earliest date on which the Member is both medically stationary and capable of Substantial Gainful Activity. If not medically stationary sooner, the Member shall be treated as medically stationary for purposes of this Section on the fourth anniversary of the date of disability, regardless of the Member's condition. The Member is capable of Substantial Gainful Activity if qualified, physically and by education and experience, to pursue employment with earnings equal to or exceeding one‑third of the Member's rate of Base Pay at disability.
3. After the date described in Paragraph 2, the Member shall be paid 50 percent of the Member's rate of Base Pay at disability, reduced by 25 percent of any wages earned in other employment during the same period.
4. The minimum benefit shall be 25 percent of the Member's rate of Base Pay, regardless of the amount of wages earned in other employment.
5. The Fund Administrator may suspend or reduce the benefit if the Member does not cooperate in treatment of the disability or in vocational rehabilitation or does not pursue other employment.
6. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Chapter or the City Charter, a disabled Member receiving or eligible to receive Service-Connected and Occupational Disability Benefits under Section 5-306, or Non-Service Connected Disability Benefits under Section 5-307, shall not receive any such benefit for periods of time during which the member is incarcerated subsequent to and for the conviction of a crime. One-half of such benefit, however, shall be payable to the Member's spouse, if not incarcerated, or Member's minor children, during such periods of incarceration.
(f) Form of Benefits. The service‑connected and occupational disability benefits shall be paid on the same schedule as the Member’s regular payroll during the first year from the date of disability and paid monthly thereafter. The Board may adopt administrative rules which allow exceptions to the Form of Benefits in accordance with this Subsection. The benefits shall be adjusted to reflect changes in the rate of Base Pay of the position held by the Member at disability.
(g) Service-connected or occupational disability benefits to a FPDR Two Member shall cease at Disability Retirement Age under Subsection 5-304(a) unless the Fund Administrator determines that the service-connected or occupational disability is temporary. If the service-connected or occupational disability is determined by the Fund Administrator to be temporary, a FPDR Two Member shall be eligible to receive disability benefits for a period of two (2) years from the date of such disability or the Disability Retirement Age, whichever is later. At the end of such period, the disabled Member shall be entitled to receive only a retirement benefit. Service-connected or occupational disability benefits to a FPDR Three Member shall cease at Normal Retirement Age under PERS unless the Fund Administrator determines that service-connected or occupational disability is temporary. If the service-connected or occupational disability is determined by the Fund Administrator to be temporary, a FPDR Three Member shall be eligible to receive disability benefits for a period of two (2) years from the date of such disability or the Normal Retirement Age, whichever is later.
(h) Medical and Hospital Expenses.
1. For members who are retired as of January 1, 2007, in addition to the benefits described above, a Member with a service‑connected or occupational injury or illness shall be reimbursed from the Fund for reasonable medical and hospital expenses arising from the injury or illness, as determined by the Fund Administrator. Such reimbursement shall be allowed for expenses incurred while serving as an Active Member, while the FPDR Two Member's disability benefits under this Section continue and, if the FPDR Two Member continues to receive such benefits until Disability Retirement Age while retirement benefits under Section 5‑304 continue to the FPDR Two Member. A FPDR Three Member shall receive a reimbursement for such reasonable medical and hospital expenses while serving as an Active Member, while the FPDR Three Member’s disability benefit under this Section continue and, if the FPDR Three Member continues to receive such benefits until Normal Retirement Age under PERS while retirement benefits continue under PERS to the FPDR Three Member. The Fund Administrator may limit reimbursement to particular medical and hospital service providers with which it has made fee arrangements and may join in the purchase of services and administration of claims for other employees of the City of Portland.
2. For members who are not retired before January 1, 2007, in addition to the benefits described above, a Member with a service-connected or occupational disability accepted before retirement shall be reimbursed from the Fund for reasonable medical and hospital expenses arising from the injury or illness, as determined by the Fund Administrator. The Fund Administrator may limit reimbursement to particular medical and hospital service providers with which it has made fee arrangements and may join in the purchase of services and administration of claims for other employees of the City of Portland.
3. If the Fund Administrator determines by a preponderance of the evidence that a claim under Subsection 2 from a retired Member,
a. is for medical or hospital expenses related to an injury or illness that was based upon fraud, misrepresentation, an omission, or illegal activity by the Member, or
b. is for medical or hospital expenses related to an injury or illness that was accepted in good faith, in a case not involving fraud, misrepresentation, an omission, or illegal activity by the Member, and within two (2) years of the initial acceptance the Administrator obtains evidence that the claim is not a service-connected or occupational injury or the Fund is not responsible for the injury or illness, or
c. that the medical or hospital expenses are not related to the service-connected injury or illness,
the Fund Administrator shall deny the claim for medical or hospital expenses pursuant to Subsection 2. Nothing in this Subsection shall limit the Fund’s ability to recover costs, fees, and other remedies for other benefits previously received by the Member based upon fraud, misrepresentation, an omission, or illegal activity.
(i) Waiver of Other Remedies. By applying for and accepting service‑connected or occupational disability benefits, a Member waives any right to recover any other compensation or damages from the City of Portland as a result of such disability.
(j) Offset. The monthly amount of service-connected or occupational disability benefits under this Charter shall be reduced by any monthly disability benefit payment made by PERS up to the amount provided in Subsection (e) of this Section. The Fund Administrator shall reduce any service-connected or occupational disability benefit payable under this Chapter in the amount determined to be necessary by the Fund Administrator to meet the limitation imposed by this Subsection.