Do You Have New, Worsened or Persistent Physical or Mental Health Concerns Related to the WTC Attacks on 9/11?
For active members who may have health impacts from rescue, recovery or cleanup work after the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.
In late 2018, the City and various unions, including OSA, signed an agreement to provide unlimited paid sick leave to eligible active employees who participated in those activities. Since that agreement was signed, eligible employees who provide the appropriate medical documentation have been able to take unlimited sick leave without impact on their sick leave bank.
Now, DCAS has finally issued its policy for recovering previously used sick leave from the period 2001-19. We post below the policy, outlined in Personnel Services Bulletin 440-17 (Updated October 15, 2020), along with two forms you must file to recover previously used 9/11-related sick leave time.
Unlimited Paid Sick Leave For Employees With 9/11 Related Illnesses (PDF File)
Verification of Participation Form (Word Document)
Retroactive Unlimited Sick Leave Request Form (Word Document)
There is a deadline of January 15, 2021 to submit your request to recover previously used sick leave totaling more than 150 hours in any single calendar year from 2001-19. So, if this applies to you, promptly review the policy and forms and gather the needed doctor's support documentation.
Those seeking restoration of lower amounts of sick leave for any year will have the opportunity to submit requests at a later stage of the process.
If you are no longer in the agency that employed you when you took the sick leave, you will need to reach out to the employing agency rather than your present one.
Individuals who were exposed to toxic materials on or after 9/11 fall into two main categories - first responders who performed rescue, recovery or clean-up work and office workers, residents or students who either lived or worked in Lower Manhattan or were called back to work locations downtown soon after 9/11. Most OSA members and retirees affected by 9/11 fall into the second group, although some OSA members did perform rescue, recovery or clean-up work. In short, you did not have to be a first responder working on the "pile" to be exposed and have your health adversely affected.
IF YOU WERE A DOWNTOWN OFFICE WORKER OR RESIDENT EXPOSED TO 9/11 TOXIC AIR OR DUST
The World Trade Center Health Program was established in 2011 as a result of Congressional passage of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010. The WTC Health Program incorporates several pre-existing treatment centers and divides them into health programs for responders, survivors and firefighters. One of them, the World Trade Center Environmental Health Center (WTC EHC) evaluates and treats the medical problems of non-responders associated with the destruction of the World Trade Center and the resulting spread of toxic smoke and dust. The WTC EHC is a program of New York City Health + Hospitals with locations at Bellevue Hospital, Gouverneur Health Services in Lower Manhattan, and Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens.
The WTC EHC is the only center of excellence providing physical and mental health care services to people affected by 9/11 who were not first responders.
Many OSA members worked downtown on 9/11 and in the weeks and months afterward, in close proximity to the World Trade Center site. Many were exposed to a range of toxic materials.
Once again, you did not have to be a first responder working on the "pile" to be exposed and have your health adversely affected.
If you are suffering new, worsened, or persistent physical or mental health problems that you believe are related to 9/11, and you were an area worker, resident or student, you are eligible for care at the WTC EHC. The WTC EHC works in cooperation with community and labor organizations and residents affected by 9/11, including our union.
If you believe you have physical or mental health problems related to 9/11, call 1-888-982-4748 toll free, for more information. Please let the person you talk to on the phone know that you are an OSA member and that you learned about the program from the union.
You can find more information about the World Trade Center Health Program and applications in English, Spanish, Chinese and Polish at this site.
The application process requires that you fill out a form explaining the circumstances of your exposures to World Trade Center dust or smoke on or after 9/11. If the program determines, after you submit your application, that you are eligible for an initial visit to assess your health conditions and their connection to 9/11, you will be contacted by the program and told how to schedule an initial visit to the Environmental Health Center. This visit includes a comprehensive assessment of your health. Among the many conditions identified in patients at the Center thus far are new, worsened, or persistent respiratory problems, stomach and esophageal problems, skin conditions, and depression and anxiety. In mid-2012, the program added more than 50 cancers to the list of conditions that can be treated by the WTC Health Program.
Treatment at the Center is provided at no out-of-pocket cost to you.
Even if you presently have other doctors who are treating you for 9/11-related conditions, it is important to contact the Center and see their doctors. Center doctors, who have a vast amount of experience with 9/11-related health conditions, will work with your physician to help in your treatment.
The health data collected by the Center is an important tool both in research to determine the scope of 9/11 health impacts and in ensuring that there is adequate funding for treatment for affected individuals. The confidentiality of your information will be protected.
IF YOU WORKED OR VOLUNTEERED DOING RESCUE, RECOVERY OR CLEAN-UP WORK
If you worked or volunteered doing rescue, recovery or clean-up work after the 9/11 attacks, you may be eligible to receive a free medical screening and treatment through the WTC Health Program's General Responder Program. That program is based at Mount Sinai Hospital and at other facilities in the Metropolitan Area.
The General Responder program provides two kinds of services to World Trade Center responders:
If you were a responder, even if you are not experiencing any symptoms at this time, it's important to get screened, so you can be eligible for the program if you happen to develop health problems in the future that are related to your work after the 9/11 attacks. Benefits counseling is also available.
You can find more information about the World Trade Center Health Program and applications in English, Spanish, Chinese and Polish at this site..
GET INFORMATION ABOUT 9/11 HEALTH ISSUES ON AN ONGOING BASIS
The New York City Department of Health maintains a website on 9/11 Health issues. The site, launched in 2007, "consolidates the latest information about scientific research and services, including where those affected can go for free treatment and medicine. The website also includes easily accessible research findings and treatment options for the different groups of affected people: rescue and recovery workers, residents, children, city employees and others. The new site provides, for the first time, a single source for information about the health effects of 9/11."
To visit the website go to:
www.nyc.gov/html/doh/wtc/html/home/home.shtml
IF YOU SUFFERED ECONOMIC OR NON-ECONOMIC LOSS AS A RESULT OF PHYSICAL HEALTH CONDITIONS CAUSED BY 9/11
The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 also reopened the Victims Compensation Fund. Individuals who suffered physical harm caused by 9/11 can file claims with the VCF, which is a completely separate program from the WTC Health Program and is administered by the US Department of Justice.
The Zadroga Act provides that individuals are eligible if they were present at the September 11th crash sites at the time of the crashes or between September 11, 2001 and May 30, 2002, and suffered physical harm as a direct result of the crashes or debris removal. Personal representatives of those who died as a result of the crashes or debris removal are eligible to bring claims on behalf of the deceased individual.
For those individuals who have suffered a physical injury, the VCF's final regulations define eligible physical harm to mean a physical injury to the body that was treated by a medical professional within a reasonable time from the date of discovering the harm. In addition, the physical injury must be verified by or at the direction of the medical professional who provided contemporaneous medical care.
The final regulations provide that initially, these presumptively covered health conditions and diseases will consist of the physical injuries that the World Trade Center (WTC) Health Program has determined to be WTC-related health conditions.
Currently, the physical injuries, health conditions and diseases that are presumptively covered under the VCF are:
Claimants who have a presumptively covered physical injury, health condition or disease (and representatives of individuals who have died as a result of such a presumptively covered physical injury, health condition or disease) that was caused as a result of September 11th and who are otherwise eligible may receive compensation from the VCF for economic and non-economic loss as defined in the regulations.
You can read more about the Victims Compensation Fund at this website.
You may wish to consult an attorney in preparing your claim for the VCF.
Please note that there is a deadline on July 29, 2021 to register for the VCF and preserve your right to file a claim then or at a later date if you were diagnosed with a WTC related condition prior to July 29, 2019. Please read the page at the following link which provides information on how to register for the VCF.