The World Trade Center Disability Law creates a presumptive eligibility for accident disability retirement for certain qualifying conditions if such disability occurred as a result of participation in the World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery or Cleanup Operations. To support the presumption an officer must affirm that he or she participated in WTC operations at one or more of the four enumerated locations for a minimum of 40 hours during the period from September 11, 2001 through September 12, 2002.

In order to assist our members in proving their participation in the World Trade Center rescue and recovery efforts in the event that there is a future challenge as to whether our members put in the requisite number of hours, we have provided a witness affidavit, which will allow members to vouch for their fellow officers by stating that they witnessed the officer working at one of the enumerated sites for a specific number of hours on a specific day or days, and vice versa. By combining the affidavits, an officer will be better able to prove that he or she participated in the WTC effort for a minimum of 40 hours. Of course, any other documentary evidence that a member can collect to show their participation at any of the sites should be retained as well, i.e., roll calls, memo books, etc.

We strongly encourage all of our members to file a Notice of Participation, and to continue to spread the word to others to do the same.