New York updates sanitation employee accidental death benefits

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill into law that provides the same benefits to families of uniformed sanitation workers killed in the line of duty as are received by the families of police, fire and correction workers.

Chapter 457 of the 2017 Laws of New York allows the sanitation worker’s spouse to remarry without forfeit of death benefits and increases the pension to 100 percent of the total salary, matching benefits available to the other uniformed agencies. The law goes into effect immediately and is retroactive to Nov. 1, 1996.

“While thankfully a rare event, sanitation work is a dangerous job, and we have lost dedicated sanitation workers through the years,” Kathryn Garcia, New York City Department of Sanitation commissioner, says. “The families of sanitation workers lost to a line-of-duty death deserve the same benefits available to other uniformed workers in the city. This has been at the top of my agenda, and we are thankful to our union partners, legislators, New York City and to the governor for getting this important law enacted.”

Presently, a uniformed sanitation worker who dies from an injury sustained while on the job in the performance of his or her duties is eligible to receive accidental death benefits from the New York City Employment Retirement System equal to 50 percent of the salary earned in the last year of service. Additionally, a surviving spouse receiving benefits under the accidental death benefit is only eligible to receive such benefits until remarriage. Spouses of uniformed employees of the New York City Police and Fire Departments may remarry and continue to receive accidental death benefits without forfeiture. 

Since 1996, there have been 21 sanitation workers who have died in the line of duty in New York.