§ 45-19-1 - Salary payment during line of duty illness or injury.
SECTION 45-19-1
§ 45-19-1 Salary payment during line ofduty illness or injury. (a) Whenever any police officer of the Rhode Island Airport Corporation orwhenever any police officer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson, firemarshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal of any city, town,fire district, or the state of Rhode Island is wholly or partiallyincapacitated by reason of injuries received or sickness contracted in theperformance of his or her duties or due to their rendering of emergencyassistance within the physical boundaries of the state of Rhode Island at anyoccurrence involving the protection or rescue of human life which necessitatesthat they respond in a professional capacity when they would normally beconsidered by their employer to be officially off-duty, the respective city,town, fire district, state of Rhode Island or Rhode Island Airport Corporationby which the police officer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson, firemarshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputy fire marshal, is employed, shall,during the period of the incapacity, pay the police officer, fire fighter,crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, or deputyfire marshal, the salary or wage and benefits to which the police officer, firefighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy fire marshal, ordeputy fire marshal, would be entitled had he or she not been incapacitated,and shall pay the medical, surgical, dental, optical, or other attendance, ortreatment, nurses, and hospital services, medicines, crutches, and apparatusfor the necessary period, except that if any city, town, fire district, thestate of Rhode Island or Rhode Island Airport Corporation provides the policeofficer, fire fighter, crash rescue crewperson, fire marshal, chief deputy firemarshal, or deputy fire marshal, with insurance coverage for the relatedtreatment, services, or equipment, then the city, town, fire district, thestate of Rhode Island or Rhode Island Airport Corporation is only obligated topay the difference between the maximum amount allowable under the insurancecoverage and the actual cost of the treatment, service, or equipment. Inaddition, the cities, towns, fire districts, the state of Rhode Island or RhodeIsland Airport Corporation shall pay all similar expenses incurred by a memberwho has been placed on a disability pension and suffers a recurrence of theinjury or illness that dictated his or her disability retirement.
(b) As used in this section, "police officer" means andincludes any chief or other member of the police department of any city or townregularly employed at a fixed salary or wage and any executive high sheriff,sheriff, deputy sheriff, member of the fugitive task force, or capitol policeofficer, permanent environmental police officer or criminal investigator of thedepartment of environmental management, or airport police officer.
(c) As used in this section, "fire fighter" means andincludes any chief or other member of the fire department or rescue personnelof any city, town, or fire district, and any person employed as a member of thefire department of the town of North Smithfield, or fire department or districtin any city or town.
(d) As used in this section, "crash rescue crewperson" meansand includes any chief or other member of the emergency crash rescue section,division of airports, or department of transportation of the state of RhodeIsland regularly employed at a fixed salary or wage.
(e) As used in this section, "fire marshal," "chief deputyfire marshal", and "deputy fire marshal" mean and include the fire marshal,chief deputy fire marshal, and deputy fire marshals regularly employed by thestate of Rhode Island pursuant to the provisions of chapter 28.2 of title 23.
(f) Any person employed by the state of Rhode Island, exceptfor sworn employees of the Rhode Island State Police, who is otherwise entitledto the benefits of chapter 19 of this title shall be subject to the provisionsof chapters 29 38 of title 28 for all case management procedures anddispute resolution for all benefits.
(g) In order to receive the benefits provided for under thissection, a police officer or firefighter must prove to their employer that heor she had reasonable grounds to believe that there was an emergency whichrequired an immediate need for their assistance for the protection or rescue ofhuman life.
(h) Any claims to the benefits provided for under thissection resulting from the rendering of emergency assistance in the state ofRhode Island at any occurrence involving the protection or rescue of human lifewhile off-duty, shall first require those covered by this section to submit asworn declaration to their employer attesting to the date, time, place andnature of the event involving the protection or rescue of human life causingthe professional assistance to be rendered and the cause and nature of anyinjuries sustained in the protection or rescue of human life. Sworndeclarations shall also be required from any available witness to the allegedemergency involving the protection or rescue of human life.
(i) All declarations required under this section shallcontain the following language:
"Under penalty of perjury, I declare and affirm that I haveexamined this declaration, including any accompanying schedules and statements,and that all statements contained herein are true and correct."