Your Voice Needed: State Bill Would Grant New Accidental Death Benefits for Public Employees

President Utano with the bill's Assembly Sponsor, Hon. Peter Abbate
President Utano with the bill's Assembly Sponsor, Hon. Peter Abbate

May 26, 2020  — The families of our fallen heroes would be eligible for accidental death pension benefits under a bill that state legislators introduced Monday night.
The bill establishes a presumption that public employees stricken by COVID-19 were infected on the job – and not while off-duty.

Currently, transit worker beneficiaries are eligible for a lump sum payment equal to three years’ salary. But this legislation would provide an important alternative option: half the hero’s annual salary for the full extent of the beneficiary’s life.

Both options are in addition to the $500,000 per transit family that Local 100 secured in negotiations with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last month.
Assemblyman Peter Abbate, one of our strongest allies in Albany, introduced the bill (A10523) in the Assembly. Sen. Andrew Gounardes, also a good friend of TWU Local 100, introduced a companion bill (S8420) in the Senate. The bill has certain eligibility requirements, including that a worker reported to work on or after March 1, 2020. The death has to have been caused by COVID-19, or the virus was a contributing factor.

Local 100 President Tony Utano is urging everyone to contact their state Assemblymember and Senator about this bill. Tell them to recognize and honor our fallen heroes by ensuring the families are taken care of financially. Use these links today:

Assembly

Senate