Calling all 9/11 workers or volunteers who participated in rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts at the World Trade Center!

You must act soon to secure your rights to claim certain benefits in the future by registering with both the State of New York Workers’ Compensation Board and the New York City Employees Retirement System (NYCERS).


From left, Donald Arnold, director of Health and Safety for the Citywide and Housing Divisions, listens to a presentation on the World Trade Center laws with Housing business agents David Gonzalez, Norberto Luna and Chris Maisano. Also present but not pictured were Housing Deputy Director Jeanette Woods, Citywide Assistant Director Randy Klein and Housing Deputy Director James Giocastro.

To qualify for benefits under the new World Trade Center laws, workers who believe they may be eligible are required to register with the Workers’ Compensation Board by Aug. 14, 2007, and with NYCERS by June 13, 2007.

The new laws extend Workers’ Compensation and NYCERS pension benefits to members who may become ill in the future and to the survivors of members who die from diseases linked to exposure to toxic elements at Ground Zero during the first year of the aftermath.

Last month, Donald Arnold, Local 237’s director of Health and Safety for the Citywide and Housing Divisions, attended a meeting along with several business agents. At the meeting, sponsored by the Civil Service Coalition of Building Trades and Municipal Unions, participants discussed the laws and the registration process.

Specialists explained that the registration deadline for Workers’ Compensation was extended to accommodate first responders who are just beginning to develop illnesses that may be linked to their work at Ground Zero, and who may need to file for future disability benefits.

The former registration deadline was Sept. 11, 2003, which locked out participants who filed a disability claim after that date. Under the extended deadline, registrants who develop a 9/11-related illness at any time will be eligible for Workers’ Compensation. If you don’t register, however, you will not be able to file for Workers’ Compensation related to 9/11 in the future.

Members who worked or volunteered in the recovery effort from Sept. 11, 2001, to Sept. 11, 2002, at certain sites downtown below Canal Street — whether they have symptoms or not — are eligible to register with Workers’ Compensation using form WTC-12.

To register is not the same as filing a claim. Registering insures that if members become ill in the future as a result of their work at Ground Zero, they will be eligible to file a claim for all medical expenses, which will be covered by Workers’ Compensation.

Separately, NYCERS requires members of the pension funds who participated in the WTC recovery between Sept. 11, 2001, and Sept. 12, 2002, to complete a Notice of Participation, or Form #622, by June 13, 2007, in order to be eligible to apply for disability or for survivors to make claims under the WTC laws.

Under an amendment to the laws, an accidental death pension may be available to survivors of retired public employees who were covered by the NYCERS plan, retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001.

Anyone who worked or volunteered at Ground Zero may contact the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program, which provides free medical screening for early detection of slow-starting diseases related to the WTC recovery work, and treatment for patients who are already ill.

The program has examined more than 16,000 responders since it started, and last month 1,100 new callers came for screening, says Diane Stein, the program’s director of Outreach and Education. Examinations are conducted at several clinics in New York City, New Jersey and on Long Island. A total of 60 Local 237 members registered with the WTC Medical Monitoring Program and are eligible for three exams, conducted every 18 months.

Patricia Stryker, Local 237’s Political Action and Legislation director, urges members who think they may be eligible for benefits under the new WTC laws to “Register Today! Don’t Delay!” Stryker adds, “There are deadlines for Workers’ Compensation and NYCERS, and it is most unlikely that they will be extended.”