§ 45-19-1. Salary payment during line of duty illness or injury.
(a)(1) Whenever any police officer of the Rhode Island airport corporation or whenever any
police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire
marshal, or deputy fire marshal of any city, town, fire district, or the state of
Rhode Island is wholly or partially incapacitated by reason of injuries received or
sickness contracted in the performance of their duties or due to their rendering of
emergency assistance within the physical boundaries of the state of Rhode Island at
any occurrence involving the protection or rescue of human life which necessitates
that they respond in a professional capacity when they would normally be considered
by their employer to be officially off-duty, the respective city, town, fire district,
state of Rhode Island, or Rhode Island airport corporation by which the police officer,
firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or
deputy fire marshal, is employed, shall, during the period of the incapacity, pay
the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy
fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, the salary or wage and benefits to which the
police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire
marshal, or deputy fire marshal, would be entitled had he or she not been incapacitated,
and shall pay the medical, surgical, dental, optical, or other attendance, or treatment,
nurses, and hospital services, medicines, crutches, and apparatus for the necessary
period, except that if any city, town, fire district, the state of Rhode Island, or
Rhode Island airport corporation provides the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue
crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, with
insurance coverage for the related treatment, services, or equipment, then the city,
town, fire district, the state of Rhode Island, or Rhode Island airport corporation
is only obligated to pay the difference between the maximum amount allowable under
the insurance coverage and the actual cost of the treatment, service, or equipment.
In addition, the cities, towns, fire districts, the state of Rhode Island, or Rhode
Island airport corporation shall pay all similar expenses incurred by a member who
has been placed on a disability pension and suffers a recurrence of the injury or
illness that dictated his or her disability retirement, subject to the provisions
of subsection (j) herein.
(2) A police officer or firefighter diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (as
described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, current edition,
published by the American Psychiatric Association) by an individual who holds the
title of an independent licensed mental health professional with a master's degree,
related to the exposure of potentially traumatic events, resulting from their acting
within the course of their employment or from the rendering of emergency assistance
in the state of Rhode Island, at any occurrence involving the protection or the rescue
of human life while off-duty, as set forth in subsection (h) of this section, shall
be presumed to have sustained an injury in the line of duty, as that term is used
in subsection (a)(1) of this section, unless the contrary is proven by a fair preponderance
of the evidence that the post-traumatic stress injury/PTSD is not related to their
job as a police officer or firefighter. The benefits provided for under this section
shall not be extended to a police officer or firefighter, if their post-traumatic
stress injury/PTSD diagnosis arises out of any disciplinary action, work evaluation,
job transfer, layoff, demotion, termination, or similar adverse job actions.
(b) As used in this section, "police officer� means and includes any chief or other member
of the police department of any city or town regularly employed at a fixed salary
or wage and any deputy sheriff, member of the fugitive task force, or capitol police
officer, permanent environmental police officer or criminal investigator of the department
of environmental management, or airport police officer.
(c) As used in this section, "firefighter� means and includes any chief or other member
of the fire department or rescue personnel of any city, town, or fire district, and
any person employed as a member of the fire department of the town of North Smithfield,
or fire department or district in any city or town.
(d) As used in this section, "crash rescue crewperson� means and includes any chief or
other member of the emergency crash rescue section, division of airports, or department
of transportation of the state of Rhode Island regularly employed at a fixed salary
or wage.
(e) As used in this section, "fire marshal,� "chief deputy fire marshal,� and "deputy
fire marshal� mean and include the fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, and deputy
fire marshals regularly employed by the state of Rhode Island pursuant to the provisions
of chapter 28.2 of title 23.
(f) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island, except for sworn employees of the
Rhode Island state police, who is otherwise entitled to the benefits of chapter 19
of this title, shall be subject to the provisions of chapters 29 — 38 of title 28
for case management procedures and dispute resolution by the workers' compensation
court, for all petitions filed on or after July 1, 2025, for the following benefit
and disability determinations:
(1) The nature and status of disability of the injured employee;
(2) The nature and location of injury relative to the work incident;
(3) Maximum medical improvement (MMI), as it is defined under § 28-33-2(9);
(4) All issues of legal and/or medical causation; and
(5) The assignment of fees and costs pursuant to the provisions of § 28-35-32.
The court may, in its discretion, appoint an impartial medical examiner in accordance
with § 28-33-35. The court shall hereby be empowered to enforce all of its orders, decrees, and consent
agreements of the parties.
(g) In order to receive the benefits provided for under this section, a police officer
or firefighter must prove to their employer that they had reasonable grounds to believe
that there was an emergency that required an immediate need for their assistance for
the protection or rescue of human life.
(h) Any claims to the benefits provided for under this section resulting from the rendering
of emergency assistance in the state of Rhode Island at any occurrence involving the
protection or rescue of human life while off-duty, shall first require those covered
by this section to submit a sworn declaration to their employer attesting to the date,
time, place, and nature of the event involving the protection or rescue of human life
causing the professional assistance to be rendered and the cause and nature of any
injuries sustained in the protection or rescue of human life. Sworn declarations shall
also be required from any available witness to the alleged emergency involving the
protection or rescue of human life.
(i) All declarations required under this section shall contain the following language:
"Under penalty of perjury, I declare and affirm that I have examined this declaration,
including any accompanying schedules and statements, and that all statements contained
herein are true and correct.�
(j) Any person, not employed by the state of Rhode Island, receiving injured-on-duty benefits
pursuant to this section, and subject to the jurisdiction of the state retirement
board for accidental retirement disability, for an injury occurring on or after July
1, 2011, shall apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance from the state
retirement board not later than the later of eighteen (18) months after the date of
the person's injury that resulted in the person's injured-on-duty status or sixty
(60) days from the date on which the treating physician certifies that the person
has reached maximum medical improvement. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit
or alter any and all rights of the parties with respect to independent medical examination
or otherwise, as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding
the forgoing, any person receiving injured-on-duty benefits as the result of a static
and incapacitating injury whose permanent nature is readily obvious and ascertainable
shall be required to apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance within
sixty (60) days from the date on which the treating physician certifies that the person's
injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date on which the determination of
permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical examination procedures
as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
(1) If a person with injured-on-duty status fails to apply for an accidental disability
retirement allowance from the state retirement board within the time frame set forth
above, that person's injured-on-duty payment shall terminate. Further, any person
suffering a static and incapacitating injury as set forth in subsection (j) above
and who fails to apply for an accidental disability benefit allowance as set forth
in subsection (j) shall have their injured-on-duty payment terminated.
(2) A person who so applies shall continue to receive injured-on-duty payments, and the
right to continue to receive IOD payments of a person who so applies shall terminate
in the event of a final ruling of the workers' compensation court allowing accidental
disability benefits. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter any and all
rights of the parties with respect to independent medical examination or otherwise,
as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
(k) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island who is currently receiving injured-on-duty
benefits or any person employed by the state of Rhode Island who in the future is
entitled to injured-on-duty benefits pursuant to this chapter, and subject to the
jurisdiction of the state retirement board for accidental retirement disability, shall
apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance from the state retirement
board the later of eighteen (18) months after the date of the person's injury that
resulted in the person's injured-on-duty status or sixty (60) days from the date on
which the treating physician certifies that the person has reached maximum medical
improvement. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or alter any and all rights
of the parties with respect to independent medical examination or otherwise, as set
forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement. Notwithstanding the forgoing,
any person receiving injured-on-duty benefits as the result of a static and incapacitating
injury whose permanent nature is readily obvious and ascertainable shall be required
to apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance within sixty (60) days
from the date on which a treating physician or an independent medical examiner certifies
that the person's injury is permanent, or sixty (60) days from the date on which such
determination of permanency is made in accordance with the independent medical examination
procedures as set forth in the applicable collective bargaining agreement.
(1) If a person employed by the state of Rhode Island with injured-on-duty status fails
to apply for an accidental disability retirement allowance from the state retirement
board within the time frame set forth in subsection (k) above, that person's injured-on-duty
payment shall terminate. Further, any person employed by the state of Rhode Island
suffering a static and incapacitating injury as set forth in subsection (k) above
and who fails to apply for an accidental disability benefit allowance as set forth
in subsection (k) shall have his or her injured-on-duty payment terminated.
(2) A person employed by the state of Rhode Island who so applies shall continue to receive
injured-on-duty payments, and the right to continue to receive injured-on-duty payments
of a person who so applies shall terminate upon final adjudication by the state retirement
board approving or denying either ordinary or accidental disability payments and,
notwithstanding § 45-31.2-9, this termination of injured-on-duty benefits shall not be stayed.
(3)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all persons employed by the state of Rhode
Island entitled to benefits under this section who were injured prior to July 1, 2019,
and who have been receiving injured-on-duty benefits pursuant to this section for
a period of eighteen (18) months or longer as of July 1, 2019, shall have up to ninety
(90) days from July 1, 2019, to apply for an accidental disability retirement benefit
allowance. Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty
benefits for a period less than eighteen (18) months as of July 1, 2019, shall apply
for an accidental disability retirement benefit allowance within eighteen (18) months
of the date of injury that resulted in the person receiving injured-on-duty pay; provided
however, said person shall have a minimum of ninety (90) days to apply.
Applications for disability retirement received by the state retirement board by any
person employed by the State of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty payments that
shall be deemed untimely pursuant to § 36-10-14(b) shall have ninety (90) days from July 1, 2019, to apply for an accidental disability
retirement benefit allowance. Failure to apply for an accidental disability retirement
benefit allowance within the timeframe set forth herein shall result in the termination
of injured-on-duty benefits.
(ii) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island receiving injured-on-duty payments
who has been issued a final adjudication of the state retirement board on an application
for an ordinary or accidental disability benefit, either approving or denying the
application, shall have his or her injured-on-duty payments terminated.
(4) If awarded an accidental disability pension, any person employed by the state of Rhode
Island covered under this section shall receive benefits consistent with § 36-10-15.