Section 45-49A-63.61 Disability.

(a) Non-service connected benefit. If a member who has at least 15 years of service becomes permanently physically or mentally disabled other than while performing his or her duties as a uniformed officer by reason of a disability not described in paragraph b. of subdivision (1) of subsection (b), he or she shall receive a monthly disability benefit equal to two and one-half percent of his or her final salary multiplied by his or her years of service, but not more than 60 percent of his or her final salary. (b)(1) Service connected benefit. If: a. Any member becomes permanently physically or mentally disabled while performing his or her duties as a uniformed officer other than due to causes specified in paragraph b.; or b. Any member who has completed 3 years as a uniformed officer becomes permanently physically or mentally disabled due to any of the following: 1. Hypertension. 2. Heart disease. 3. Respiratory disease. 4. AIDS. 5. Hepatitis. 6. Cancer. (2) The member shall receive a monthly disability benefit equal to 45 percent of the member’s final salary at the time the member became disabled; provided, however, any member who can demonstrate to the board that he or she is totally disabled from any gainful employment, shall receive a benefit equal to 60 percent of the member’s final salary at the time the member became disabled. (c) Disability standards. A member shall be permanently physically or mentally disabled if: (1) There is no other job or service within his or her merit system classification that he or she is capable of performing; and (2) Upon entering service as a uniformed officer he or she successfully passed a board-approved physical examination, whether or not such examination was required to enter service as a uniformed officer, which failed to reveal any evidence of a condition which could cause his or her disability. (d) Disputes. Any dispute as to whether a job or service is within the member’s merit system classification shall be determined solely by the Mobile County Personnel Board in accordance with its rules and regulations governing such matters. (e) Presumption. If a member is disabled within the meaning of subsection due to hypertension, heart disease, respiratory disease, AIDS, hepatitis, or cancer, his or her disability shall be deemed to have occurred while performing his or her duties as a uniformed officer if: (1) He or she has completed three years of service as a uniformed officer; (2) The AIDS, hepatitis, or cancer manifests itself no later than the end of the tenth year following the member’s retirement from service, regardless of the member’s annuity starting date; and (3) The city fails to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the hypertension, heart disease, respiratory disease, AIDS, hepatitis, or cancer was caused by some other means or not caused while performing his or her duties as a uniformed officer. (f) Reduction in amount. The disability benefit paid under this subpart to any member shall be reduced prior to: (1) His or her 50th birthday in the case of a member who first became a uniformed officer prior to March 28, 1990, or (2) His or her 55th birthday in the case of a member who first became a uniformed officer on or after March 28, 1990, to the extent necessary to prevent the sum of the member’s disability benefit plus any earnings, as defined in Section 203(f)(5) of the Social Security Act, received by the member from exceeding 150 percent of the member’s rate of salary determined immediately prior to his or her disability. Any member to whom this subsection applies shall submit by June 1 of each year a true and correct copy of his or her federal and state income tax returns for the preceding year or other evidence of income as the board may determine. (g) Commencement. A member eligible to receive a disability benefit under this subpart shall begin to receive the benefit on the first day following the date the board approves his or her application for a disability benefit and he or she shall continue to receive the benefit only until the earlier of the date he or she ceases to be disabled as provided in subsection (h) or his or her death. If a member receiving a disability benefit under this section is found to be no longer disabled, he or she shall be entitled to receive a benefit under Section 45-49A-63.60 if he or she met the requirements for such a benefit prior to the date he or she first became disabled. (h) Proof of disability. Members shall submit annually, and at such other times as ordered by the board, such statements or other evidence of his or her disability as may be required by the board, including the results of an examination by physicians or other health professionals selected by the board. Any member applying for or in receipt of any disability benefits under this section who refuses to provide the evidence of disability or to allow the examination shall not receive any disability benefits from this plan until he or she complies with the board’s request. If the board has reasonable cause to believe that a member receiving a disability benefit is no longer disabled, the board, upon notice, shall conduct a hearing to determine the member’s continued eligibility for the benefit and to ascertain whether the member has received any payments for which the member was ineligible. If the board finds that the member is no longer disabled, the board shall discontinue the member’s benefit payments. The board may also file suit in the circuit court to recover any payments made to any member who has been found to be ineligible to receive those payments. If the board is the prevailing party in the action, the board may also recover reasonable attorney’s fees for bringing the suit.