New York Police Unions Lobby For Higher Disability Pensions

Public safety unions in New York have renewed lobbying for a bill that would increase pensions for less experienced police officers that are injured on the job.

More details on the bill and how it would change current law, from Capital New York:

To determine the size of their pensions, police officers, like most municipal employees, are grouped into a tier system based upon their date of hire. The Albany bill, which has been introduced in both houses of the State Legislature, would afford all police officers the same disability benefit of three-quarters of their salary.

Currently those hired after July, 2009 receive less than their colleagues with more seniority.

The bill received added attention after NYPD officer Rosa Rodriguez suffered severe lung damage after responding to a Brooklyn fire in April. Her partner, Denis Guerra, died from injuries he sustained at the high-rise arson fire in Coney Island.

A memo attached to the Albany bill notes that Rodriguez’s disability benefits would currently total $22,000 annually, compared to roughly $39,000 if she had been hired earlier.

Mayor Bill de Blasio does not support the bill, although his support isn’t needed to pass the measure. De Blasio says the bill would cost the city $35 million in the first year alone, but union officials dispute that number.