Should COVID-19-related deaths of first responders be classified as "in the line of duty" deaths?
Yes, say some local officials, backed by some state and U.S. representatives.
Passaic Firefighter Israel Tolentino was 31 when he died on March 31. It was the first COVID-19-related death of a first responder in the state. Paterson Police Officer Frank Scorpo, 34, died soon after, also due to complications from the virus.
Shortly after Tolentino's death, Passaic Mayor Hector Lora started to reach out to state and U.S. representatives. He wants the families of first responders who die from COVID-19 to be financially compensated as they would be under line-of-duty death standards.
"I don't want the families to have to wait around for years," Lora said of first responders' families. He said Tolentino, who also served the city as an EMT with St. Clare's Hospital, left behind two young children and a wife. His family should not suffer because he worked during a pandemic, the mayor said.
What does it mean
So what does declaring the deaths "in the line of duty" mean for the first responders and their families?
Without the designation, the family or survivors of a first responder will receive a life insurance payout in the amount of 3½ times the salary of the last year worked. A yearly salary of $40,000 would mean a one-time payout of 140,000. There are no health benefits included for the surviving spouse or partner and no college funds for surviving children.
That's not enough, said Paterson Public Safety Director Jerry Speziale.
He said Scopo was a popular traffic officer who died after contracting COVID-19. He was on the lower end of the salary scale and leaves behind two very young children and a wife.
"Forget about putting them through college — that's not going to put them through grade school," Speziale said of the payout if the virus deaths are not reclassified.
Currently, firefighters
and police officers must die of a work-related cause for it to be
considered an "in the line of duty death."
If the death is deemed to be in the line of duty, the surviving spouse or partner will receive, for their lifetime, "70% [of the salary] and free health care for widow and dependents from the state of New Jersey," the Passaic Fire Chief Pat Trentacost.
Surviving children's post-secondary education costs at a state college will also be covered.
Currently,
the survivors must prove the first responder “more likely than
not” contracted COVID-19 while on duty, officials said, for the death to
be in the line of duty. The elected officials are looking to take out
the burden of proof by survivors and make it automatic.
