Matter of Hernandez v New York City Employees' Retirement System
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Public employee disability retirement benefits, specifically whether on-the-job falls qualified as "accidents" for accidental disability retirement benefits.
The Supreme Court, Kings County, granted the CPLR article 78 petition [special proceeding to challenge administrative action], in effect annulled the denial of accidental disability retirement benefits, and remitted the matter to the New York City Employees' Retirement System for further proceedings.
The Appellate Division reversed the Supreme Court's judgment and reinstated the determination of the Board of Trustees of the New York City Employees' Retirement System denying accidental disability retirement benefits.
The Board of Trustees had a rational basis for finding that neither incident was a qualifying accident: the January 2018 slip on ice occurred during the petitioner's routine sanitation enforcement duties, and the March 2018 fall could rationally be viewed as no more than the petitioner's own misstep.
Background
Kevin Hernandez, a supervisor with the New York City Department of Sanitation, claimed injuries from two workplace incidents in 2018: first, a slip on an icy sidewalk while investigating whether a snow-and-ice summons should be issued; second, a fall while getting up from a chair in a garage. In January 2020, he applied to the New York City Employees' Retirement System (NYCERS) for ordinary disability retirement under Retirement and Social Security Law § 506 [governing ordinary disability retirement benefits] and accidental disability retirement under Retirement and Social Security Law § 507 [governing accidental disability retirement benefits]. NYCERS's Medical Board found him disabled but concluded that the incidents were not accidents, recommending denial of accidental disability retirement (ADR) benefits and approval of ordinary disability retirement (ODR) benefits. On April 17, 2023, the Board of Trustees adopted that recommendation and denied ADR benefits.
Lower Court Decision
In this CPLR article 78 proceeding, the Supreme Court, Kings County, determined that the denial of ADR benefits should be annulled and the matter remitted to NYCERS for further proceedings.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division, applying CPLR 7803(3) [review of whether an administrative determination was made in violation of lawful procedure, affected by an error of law, or was arbitrary and capricious or an abuse of discretion], held that the Board of Trustees' determination was not arbitrary and capricious. The court ruled that the January 2018 fall arose from a risk inherent in the petitioner's regular duties and was not sufficiently unexpected or out of the ordinary to constitute an accident as a matter of law. As to the March 2018 fall, inconsistencies in the petitioner's statements and the documentary evidence gave the Board a rational basis to conclude that the incident was merely his own misstep, which also is not an accident for ADR purposes. The petition was therefore denied and the proceeding dismissed on the merits.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces New York's narrow definition of an "accident" in the public pension context. Even where an employee is disabled, ADR benefits are unavailable unless the disability is causally connected to a sudden, fortuitous, and unexpected event rather than a hazard inherent in routine duties or a simple misstep. The case also underscores the deference courts give to retirement-system determinations when those determinations have a rational basis in the record.
A public employee seeking ADR benefits must do more than show an on-duty injury; the employee must prove a true line-of-duty accident, and courts will uphold a retirement board's denial where the incident is part of ordinary work risks or can reasonably be viewed as a personal misstep.