N.J. Admin. Code § 17:1-5.8

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 17:1-5.8 - Reimbursement of funeral expenses for public safety personnel

(a) In the event that an eligible public safety employee is killed in active service while performing his or her duties, family members who pay for the public safety employee's funeral costs are entitled to receive a reimbursement for those funeral expenses from the Treasurer of the State of New Jersey, pursuant to the provisions of P.L. 2014, c. 177. Public safety employees are defined to be: full-time members of a State, county, or municipal law enforcement agency or a county sheriff's office who are statutorily empowered to act for the detection, apprehension, arrest, and conviction of offenders against laws of the State of New Jersey; active members in good standing of a paid, part-paid, or volunteer fire department of a duly incorporated first aid, emergency, ambulance, or rescue squad; or State or county correctional officers. Members of the following groups qualify as public safety personnel whose family members are eligible for the funeral expenses reimbursement called for under P.L. 2014, c. 177 :

1. Permanent full-time members of the Police and Firemen's System in active service;

2. Permanent full-time members of the State Police Retirement System in active service;

3. Permanent full-time members of the Public Employees' Retirement System in active service who work in Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) titles; and

4. Volunteer emergency workers in good standing who qualify for the Volunteer Emergency Worker's Survivors Pension (VESP), pursuant to 43:12-28.1and 17:1-11.1, 11.2, and 11.3, such as volunteer firefighters, first aid workers, rescue squad workers, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs).

(b) Eligible family members include the spouse, parents, child(ren), or other persons who pay the funeral expenses of a public safety employee who is killed in the line of duty. The family member who pays for the funeral expenses of a public safety worker killed in the line of duty must submit an itemized bill with proof of payment from the funeral home in order to receive a reimbursement for those funeral costs.

(c) The maximum allowable reimbursement shall not exceed $ 10,000 in total. If workers' compensation covers any part of the funeral expenses paid, pursuant to 34:15-13, the reimbursement shall be reduced by the amount covered by workers' compensation.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:1-5.8

Adopted by 48 N.J.R. 1306(a), effective 6/20/2016