Proposed amendment to 2 NYCRR 315.5 will permit certain special duty assignments performed by sworn officers to qualify as public safety overtime in determining the individual's retirement allowance
Source: New York State February 13, 2019
The Department of Audit and Control has posted a notice of a proposed amendment of 2 NYCRR 315.5 to provide that certain special duty assignments qualify as public safety overtime and qualify as allowable service in determining the Retirement System member's retirement allowance.
The Retirement System explains that it has:
"[L]ong considered certain special duty assignments that consisted primarily of security work performed by public safety professionals at the request of a private entity on a voluntary basis, paid or reimbursed by the private entity, performed under the direction of the private entity, or primarily for the benefit of the private entity not to be creditable because such assignments did not constitute paid public service with a participating employer.
"Courts have upheld the Retirement System’s position that such work, often referred to as 'private entity overtime,' was not allowable service and was not within the realm of the employee’s duties for the participating employer. In recent years, however, the manner in which special duty assignments performed at the request of private entities are assigned, supervised, and compensated has changed.
"Today, special duty assignments are often mandatory and are directed and controlled by the public employer. Compensation to the employee is paid by the public employer, not the private entity.
"In recognition of the changing nature of special duty assignments, the Retirement System has determined that those special duty assignments that meet the criteria established by the Retirement System, qualify as “public safety overtime” and shall be considered allowable service."
The text of the proposed amendment is posted on the Internet at: