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(a) General.
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Division, the powers and duties with respect to investments of the retirement savings plan are vested in the Board of Investment Trustees. The Board has legal title to all cash and other property of the retirement savings plan, but may delegate some or all of the incidents of ownership as provided in this Division. Sections 33-61A, 33-61C, and 33-61D apply to the Board with respect to its powers and duties under the retirement savings plan.
(2) The Board must invest and reinvest, or cause to be invested or reinvested, the principal and income of the retirement savings plan and keep the same invested without distinction between principal and income. The Board has the exclusive authority to manage the assets of the retirement savings plan, but must, to the extent directed by participants, invest each participant’s accounts in the manner directed by the participant. The Board may select mutual funds, commingled funds, unitized investments in the Montgomery County Group Trust, or any combination of other investments as investment options for the retirement savings plan.
(3) Chapter 11B does not apply to procurement of goods and services for the retirement savings plan by the Board.
(4) After consulting the Chief Administrative Officer, the Board must:
(A) develop record keeping functions for the purpose of maintaining and reporting on participant account balances;
(B) designate appropriate investment options to be offered to plan participants;
(C) designate methods of accounting for investments; and
(D) designate methods of selecting annuity contracts for distribution of participant account balances.
(5) The Board must make counseling available to each participant during each plan year to advise the participant regarding investment selections for participant and County contributions.
(b) Agents for transfer of property.
(1) The Board may register any securities or other property in its own name or in the name of a nominee. The Board may hold any security in bearer form. However, the Board or its agent must keep records that show that the investments are part of the trust fund.
(2) The Board may form a partnership under State law to hold or transfer securities as the nominee of the Board.
(3) The Board may designate in writing a trustee to hold or transfer securities as nominee of the Board.
(4) The Board must provide that trustees or a partnership that the Board designates must act only as agents of the Board. The Board may set other conditions that the Board considers prudent.
(5) The trustees or a partnership the Board designates may agree with a bank or other financial institution to:
(A) guarantee the signatures made as nominee of the Board; and
(B) conduct settlements and transfers through participation in central security depositories.
(c) Authorized investments.
(1) The Board may select or remove any investment option for the retirement savings plan that the Board finds prudent under the policies set by the Board.
(2) If an investment through any combined, common, or commingled trust fund exists, the declaration of trust of that fund is a part of the retirement savings plan trust.
(d) Trustee powers. Except as otherwise provided in this Division, the Board may:
(1) with any cash, purchase or subscribe for any investment, at a premium or discount, and retain the investment;
(2) sell, exchange, convey, transfer, lease for any period, pledge, mortgage, grant options, contract with respect to, or otherwise encumber or dispose, at public or private sale, for cash or credit or both, any part of the retirement savings plan;
(3) subject to Section 33-61A(h)(2), sue, defend, compromise, arbitrate, compound and settle any debt, obligation, claim, suit, or legal proceeding involving the retirement savings plan, and reduce the rate of interest on, extent or otherwise modify, foreclose upon default, or otherwise enforce any debt, obligation, or claim;
(4) retain uninvested a part of the retirement savings plan fund in preparation for the payment of distributions;
(5) exercise any option on any investment for conversion into another investment, exercise any rights to subscribe for additional investments, and make all necessary payments;
(6) join in, consent to, dissent from, oppose, or deposit in connection with the reorganization, recapitalization, consolidation, sale, merger, foreclosure, or readjustment of the finances of any corporation or property in which the assets of the retirement savings plan are invested, or the sale, mortgage, pledge or lease of that property or the property of any such corporation upon such terms and conditions that the Board considers prudent; exercise any options, make any agreements or subscriptions, pay any expenses, assessments, or subscriptions, and take any other action in connection with these transactions that the Board considers prudent; and accept and hold any investment that may be issued in or as a result of any such proceeding;
(7) vote, in person or by any proxy, at any election of any corporation in whose stock the assets of the retirement savings plan are invested, and exercise, personally or by any power of attorney, any right appurtenant to any investment held in the retirement savings plan; and give general or specific proxies or powers of attorney with or without power of substitution;
(8) sell, either at public or private sale, option to sell, mortgage, lease for a term of years less than or continuing beyond the possible date of the termination of the trust, partition or exchange any real property for such prices and upon such terms as the Board considers prudent, and execute and deliver deeds of conveyance and all assignments, transfers, and other legal instruments for passing the ownership to the purchaser, free and discharge of all liens;
(9) renew or extend any mortgage, upon such terms that the Board considers prudent, and increase or reduce the rate of interest on any mortgage or modify the terms of any mortgage or of any guarantee as the Board considers prudent to protect the retirement savings plan or preserve the value of the investment; waive any default or enforce any default in a manner that the Board considers prudent; exercise and enforce any right of foreclosure, bid on property in foreclosure, take a deed in lieu of foreclosure with or without paying a consideration, and release the obligation on the bond secured by the mortgage; and exercise and enforce in any action, suit, or proceeding at law or in equity any rights or remedies in respect to any mortgages or guarantee;
(10) form a corporation or corporations under the laws of any jurisdiction or acquire an interest in or otherwise make use of any corporation already formed to invest in and hold title to any property;
(11) for the purpose of investing in and holding title to real or personal property or part interests in property, including equipment pertaining to property, leaseholds, and mortgages;
(12) incur and pay expenses for agents, financial advisors, actuaries, accountants and counsel, if those expenses are incurred solely to perform the Board's duties under this retirement savings plan;
(13) borrow, raise or lend moneys, for the purpose of the retirement savings plan, in such amounts and upon such terms and conditions as the Board in its discretion considers prudent; for any money borrowed, issue a promissory note and secure the repayment of this note by pledging or mortgaging all or any part of the retirement savings plan;
(14) hold, buy, transfer, surrender, and exercise all other incidents of ownership of any annuity contract;
(15) if payments to a participant or beneficiary are to be made in the form of an annuity based on one or more lives or life expectancies, buy from any legal reserve life insurance company a single premium, nontransferable annuity contract providing for the payment of the benefits;
(16) pool all or any of the assets of the trust, from time to time, with assets belonging to any other retirement plan trust or retiree health benefit trust created by the County, including any subtrust thereof, and commingle such assets and make joint or common investments and carry joint accounts on behalf of this trust, such other trust or trusts, or subtrusts, allocating undivided shares or interests in such investments or accounts or in any pooled assets to the two or more trusts or subtrusts in accordance with their respective interests. Any such trusts or subtrusts may be unitized for investment purposes. The Board may, subject to its fiduciary duties, offer units of such pooled trust or subtrust as an investment option under the Retirement Savings Plan. Consistent with its investment authority, the Board or its delegate may also buy or sell any assets or undivided interests in this trust or in any other trust with which the assets of this trust may be pooled, to or from this trust or such other trusts at such prices or valuations as the Board may determine in reasonable good faith; and
(17) do all acts which the Board considers necessary and exercise any and all powers of this Division with respect to the management of the retirement savings plan, and in general, exercise all powers in the management of the assets which an individual could exercise in the management of property owned in the individual's own right except for making an individual investment selection.
(e) Prohibited transactions. The Board must not engage in any transaction between the trust and the County, or any entity controlled by the County, in which the Board:
(1) lends any part of its income or corpus, without receiving adequate security and a reasonable rate of interest;
(2) pays any compensation, more than a reasonable allowance for salaries or other compensation or personal services actually rendered;
(3) makes any service available on a preferential basis;
(4) makes any substantial purchase of securities or other property for more than adequate consideration which, for avoidance of doubt, does not include a transfer conducted on the terms described in Section 33-170(i) between employee benefit plan trusts or a subtrust;
(5) sells any substantial part of its securities or other property for less than adequate consideration which, for avoidance of doubt, does not include a transfer conducted on the terms described in Section 33-170(i) between employee benefit plan trusts or a subtrust; or
(6) engages in any transaction which results in a substantial diversion of its income or corpus.
(f) The Board must monitor the performance of investment options. Monitoring may include any tests or analyses that the Board finds prudent.
(g) Except for expenses incurred under paragraph (d)(12), the Board must pay all benefits and expenses of the retirement savings plan as directed by the Chief Administrative Officer.
(h) The Board may rely on the decision of the Chief Administrative Officer as to the proper recipient of benefit payments.
(i) Delegation of duties. The Board may delegate its duties to the Executive Director or a similarly situated County employee as it deems appropriate and consistent with its fiduciary duties in a written policy and procedure. If the Board has prudently delegated its duties and monitored the delegation, the trustees must not be liable for an act or omission made by its delegate. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2; 2007 L.M.C., ch. 19, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 56, § 1; 2012 L.M.C., ch. 21, § 1; 2014 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 2017 L.M.C., ch. 14, §1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 16, §1.)
(a) Right to Amend. The County Government expects to continue the retirement savings plan, but it assumes no contractual obligation to continue the plan and reserves the right at any time for any reason to amend the retirement savings plan.
(b) Qualification amendments. The retirement savings plan and any related trust agreement, investment advisory agreement, custodial agreement, annuity contract, or similar agreement may be amended by the County Government at any time, either prospectively or retroactively, to conform to the Internal Revenue Code.
(c) Termination of the retirement savings plan. The County Government has established the retirement savings plan with the expectation that the County Government will be able to make contributions indefinitely, but the County Government is not under any obligation to continue contributions, or maintain the retirement savings plan for any length of time, and may terminate the retirement savings plan. In the event of a termination of the retirement savings plan, a participant will become 100% vested in the County contributions account on the effective date of a termination of the retirement savings plan.
(d) Termination of participation by a participating agency. If a participating agency decides to withdraw or otherwise terminate its participation in the retirement savings plan, the agency must notify the Chief Administrative Officer in writing. The Chief Administrative Officer and the appropriate officer of the withdrawing agency must agree on a date for withdrawal. Any transfer of assets pursuant to the withdrawal must satisfy the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2.)
(a) Exemption from Execution, Garnishment, or Attachment.
(1) The right of a participant in that participant's account balances or any other right or benefit under this Division are not subject to execution, garnishment, attachment, or any other process, and are not assignable.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a portion or all of a participant's account balances may be paid to an alternate payee pursuant to a qualified domestic relations order under the Internal Revenue Code. The Chief Administrative Officer must establish forms and procedures to determine the qualified status of domestic relations orders and must determine the form and timing of distributions permissible under such qualified orders.
(b) Protection Against Fraud. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the retirement savings plan in any attempt to defraud the retirement savings plan is subject to punishment for a class A violation.
(c) Error in records. If any change or error in the records results in any participant or beneficiary receiving from the retirement savings plan more or less than the participant or beneficiary is entitled to receive had the records been correct, the error must be corrected, and as far as practicable, the payment must be adjusted in such manner that the amount of the benefit to which that participant or beneficiary was correctly entitled will be paid. If any participant or beneficiary has received any payment from the retirement savings plan to which the participant or beneficiary is not entitled, the participant or beneficiary must refund that amount to the retirement savings plan.
(d) Lost Participants. The Chief Administrative Officer must use all reasonable resources to locate or communicate with a former participant or beneficiary, in order to make and process required minimum distributions as required by Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a)(9). If such efforts fail, the Chief Administrative Officer or a third party holding these amounts, must distribute the former participant’s or beneficiary’s unprocessed required minimum distributions to the State under the unclaimed property laws. No amounts must be due to a former participant or beneficiary once paid to the State. The former participant or beneficiary must claim the distributed amounts directly from the State.
(e) Transfer of assets between trust funds of the retirement system. To the extent permitted by the Internal Revenue Code and applicable guidance under the Internal Revenue Code, the County may transfer assets of the retirement system relating to an account or accrued benefit of a participant in trust-to-trust transfers between the trusts of the Employees' Retirement System and the Retirement Savings Plan to correct operational failures relating to such accounts or accrued benefits.
(f) Exclusive Benefit. The Retirement Savings Plan Trust Fund must be held for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries and defraying reasonable expenses of administering the plan, and except as otherwise provided under the Internal Revenue Code, no part of the trust fund shall ever enure to the benefit of the County. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2; 2003 L.M.C., ch. 31, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 16, §1.)
Division 2. Disability Benefits Plan.
In this Division, the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
Administrator means either the Chief Administrative Officer or the entity that contracts with the County to administer this disability plan.
Applicant means an employee who has filed an application for benefits under Division 2 of Article VIII, or for whom the Chief Administrative Officer has filed an application.
Continued non-service-connected disability means a condition of the employee that:
(1) continues after the period of initial non-service-connected disability closes;
(2) makes the employee unable to engage in any available employment commensurate with the employee’s training or retraining, education, and experience; and
(3) is likely to be permanent.
Continued service-connected disability for a non-public safety employee means a condition of a non-public safety employee that:
(1) continues after the period of initial service-connected disability closes;
(2) makes the employee unable to engage in available employment commensurate with the employee’s training or retraining, education, and experience; and
(3) is likely to be permanent.
Continued service-connected disability for a public safety employee means a condition of a public safety employee that:
(1) continues after the period of initial service-connected disability closes;
(2) makes the employee unable to:
(A) engage in available employment commensurate with the employee’s training or retraining, education, and experience; and
(B) earn substantially similar final earnings; and
(3) is likely to be permanent.
County means Montgomery County Government and, when applicable, any agency that adopts this plan under an adoption agreement approved by the Chief Administrative Officer.
Disability Arbitration Board or Board means the 3 persons designated under Section 33-43(m) to review an appeal of the final decision of the Administrator regarding an application for disability benefits.
Disability Review Panel or Panel means the 4 medical doctors appointed as Panel members by the Chief Administrative Officer under Section 33-43(c).
Employee means a County employee who participates in the retirement savings plan under this Article or in the elected officials’ plan under Article III or the guaranteed retirement income plan under Article III.
Final earnings means the annual average of the regular salary of an employee less any shift pay differential for the 18-month period immediately before the disability or any period of 18 consecutive months, whichever is greater. If a participant is required to take any furlough, as defined in personnel regulations adopted under Section 33-7(b) or a collective bargaining agreement, final earnings must include any amount the participant would have received if the participant had not been required to take any furlough.
Initial non-service-connected disability means a condition of an employee that:
(1) is the natural and proximate result of an accident, illness, or injury;
(2) is not due to the employee’s willful misconduct or willful negligence;
(3) makes the employee incapable of performing the job that the employee performed immediately before the accident, illness, or injury; and
(4) is not an initial service-connected disability.
Initial service-connected disability means a condition of an employee that:
(1) is the natural and proximate result of an accident, illness, or injury occurring, an occupational disease incurred, or a condition aggravated while in the performance of duty as an employee;
(2) is not due to the employee’s willful misconduct or willful negligence; and
(3) makes the employee incapable of performing the job that the employee performed immediately before the accident, illness, or injury.
Medical doctor means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who graduated from a medical school accredited by the American Medical Association and is licensed to practice medicine in Maryland.
Non-public safety employee means any employee who is not a public safety employee.
Partial incapacity means a member’s inability to perform one or more essential functions of the position the member holds because of impairment that:
(1) is unlikely to resolve in the next 12 months;
(2) may be permanent; and
(3) does not prevent the member from performing any other substantial gainful activity.
Plan means the disability benefits plan established under this Division.
Public safety employee means any employee who is a:
(1) sworn, ranking officer of the Police Department;
(2) paid firefighter, paid fire officer, or paid rescue service employee of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service;
(3) sworn deputy sheriff;
(4) correctional officer; or
(5) County employee who provides services to a correctional facility and designated as a public safety employee by the Chief Administrative Officer.
Residual functional capacity means what the individual can still do, despite the individual’s impairment. The County must give the term residual functional capacity the same meaning as the term is given by the Social Security Administration.
Substantial gainful activity means a level of productive work that requires significant physical or mental duties, or a combination of both, performed for pay or profit on a full-time or part-time basis. An individual is able to perform a substantial level of work if the individual is able to earn more than the Social Security Administration’s current monthly earnings limit for a disabled person. The County must give the term substantial gainful activity the same meaning as the term is given by the Social Security Administration.
Total Incapacity means the member’s inability to perform substantial gainful activity because of an impairment that:
(1) is unlikely to resolve in the next 12 months; and
(2) may be permanent. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 22, § 1; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 1; 2009 L.M.C., ch. 11, § 1; 2009 L.M.C., ch. 23, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch 21, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 45, § 1; 2010 L.M.C., ch. 49, § 1; 2011 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1; 2013 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2023 L.M.C., ch. 24, § 1.)
(a) Initial non-service-connected disability benefits.
(1) An employee is entitled to receive disability benefits if the administrator determines that the employee has:
(A) incurred an initial non-service-connected disability; and
(B) worked for the County for the 6 months immediately preceding the disability.
(2) The employee is entitled to receive disability benefits subject to this plan for a period of:
(A) 12 consecutive months for a public safety employee; and
(B) 36 consecutive months for a non-public safety employee.
(b) Continued non-service-connected disability benefits. Before the end of the distribution period for initial non-service-connected disability benefits, the administrator must re-evaluate the employee to determine if the employee satisfies the requirements for a continued non-service-connected disability. If the employee does not meet the requirements for a continued non-service connected disability, the payment of disability benefits must stop. If a participant meets the requirements for a continued non-service connected disability, the payment of disability benefits must continue, subject to this plan.
(c) Temporary disability. In extenuating circumstances, the administrator may:
(1) waive the requirement that an employee's disability is likely to be permanent for continued service-connected or non-service-connected disability benefits; and
(2) approve temporary disability benefits for one or more one-year periods until the administrator determines that the disability:
(A) has ended; or
(B) qualifies as a continued disability.
(d) Initial service-connected disability benefits. An employee may receive disability benefits for a period of 36 consecutive months, subject to this plan, if the administrator finds that:
(A) the employee has incurred an initial service-connected disability; and
(B) for an accidental injury that does not cause mental impairment, the employee:
(i) reports the claimed accidental injury as soon as practicable, but no later than one year after the applicant knew or should have known that the injury is likely to be disabling; or
(ii) submits a claim for Workers’ Compensation benefits for the accidental injury that is not dismissed as untimely.
(C) The time periods for reporting in subparagraphs (i) and (ii) do not begin while the applicant is unable to report because of incapacitating injuries.
(D) For an accidental injury that occurs after July 1, 2009, the applicant must apply for disability benefits within one year after separation from County service or before July 1, 2010, whichever is later.
(E) An employee who has committed an offense that would justify termination for misconduct must not receive service-connected disability benefits.
(e) Continued service-connected disability benefits.
(1) Before the end of the distribution period for initial service-connected disability benefits, the administrator must re-evaluate the employee to determine if the employee satisfies the requirements for a continued service-connected disability. If the employee does not meet the requirement for a continued service-connected disability, the payment of disability benefits must stop. If the employee meets the requirements for a continued service-connected disability, the payment of disability benefits must continue subject to this plan.
(2) The Chief Administrative Officer may offer a 5-percent salary increase to an employee who:
(A) is eligible to receive continued service-connected disability benefits; and
(B) accepts an alternative position within the County government for which the employee is qualified.
(3) The employee’s salary in the alternative position must not exceed the maximum salary of the pay grade assigned to the position.
(4) A member of the Office, Professional and Technical Bargaining Unit or the Service, Labor and Trades Bargaining Unit who accepts an alternative placement incentive is not eligible to receive continued service connected disability benefits based on the disability for which the alternative placement was made.
(5) If a member applies for continued service-connected disability benefits instead of accepting an alternative placement incentive, the member’s failure to accept the incentive must not:
(A) be included in the information considered by the Disability Review Panel, Chief Administrative Officer, or Disability Arbitration Board;
(B) be considered at any time by the Disability Review Panel, Chief Administrative Officer, or Disability Arbitration Board; or
(C) affect the member’s eligibility for continued service-connected disability benefits or the amount of the continued service-connected disability benefits.
(f) The Disability Review Panel must recommend a finding of total incapacity if the member’s service-connected disability is severe enough to meet the Social Security Administration’s requirements for disability, meaning that the member is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to end in death or has lasted, or can be expected to last, for a continuous period of at least 12 months. The member does not have to qualify for Social Security disability benefits to be eligible for benefits under this subsection.
(1) The Panel must base its determination of whether an individual is able to engage in any substantial gainful activity on an assessment from an independent vocational expert that considers the member’s age, education, work experience, transferable skills, and residual functional capacity.
(2) The Panel must determine the member’s residual functional capacity and provide this information to the independent vocational expert.
(3) A Panel determination that the member’s service-connected disability is severe enough to be considered a disability by the Social Security Administration is not a recommendation that the member is entitled to, or should be granted, a disability benefit by the Social Security Administration.
(4) If a member has already been granted disability benefits by the Social Security Administration when the member applies for a service-connected disability pension, the County must give the member a total incapacity benefit if the Disability Review Panel finds that the award of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration was based primarily on the same medically determinable physical or mental impairment on which the Disability Review Panel awards the member a service-connected disability benefit.
(g) The Disability Review Panel must recommend a finding of partial incapacity if:
(1) the member meets the standards to receive a service-connected disability benefit; and
(2) the member is not eligible to receive a benefit for total incapacity under subsection (f).
(h) The County must increase the partial incapacity service-connected disability pension benefit of a member to a total incapacity benefit if:
(1) the Social Security Administration awards disability benefits to the member;
(2) the member submits all relevant information about the award of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration to the Disability Review Panel within 60 days after the member receives the award;
(3) the Disability Review Panel finds that the award of disability benefits from the Social Security Administration was based primarily on the same medically determinable physical or mental impairment on which the Disability Review Panel originally awarded the member a service-connected disability benefit; and
(4) the member applies for disability benefits with the Social Security Administration within 90 days after the Chief Administrative Officer notified the member that the service-connected disability pension benefit would be calculated as a partial incapacity.
(5) If a member qualifies for an increased pension benefit under subsection (h), the County must increase the member’s service-connected pension retroactively to the date when the pension began.
(i) Role of the Disability Review Panel.
(1) The Disability Review Panel must consider an application for disability benefits to determine if the applicant is eligible for disability benefits under subsection (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h). The Panel may consider any information or material submitted by the applicant, the certified representative, or the County. Within 60 days after the application is filed, the Panel must meet in person, by telephone conference, or by video conference, to review all evidence submitted to the Panel. A Panel must include either 2 or 3 members. At least 2 members must vote in favor of a decision to take any action under this Section.
(2) Before the Panel meets to review the application, the Panel must advise each party of the deadline date for submitting information to the Panel. The Panel must allow a reasonable amount of time for the parties to submit additional information, and may extend the deadline at the request of the applicant for good cause shown.
(3) The Panel must not accept or consider information from a certified representative representing an applicant if the information is received after the established deadline date unless the information is related to:
(A) the applicant’s reinjury that occurred or was diagnosed after the deadline date; or
(B) a change in the applicant’s medical condition that occurred or was diagnosed after the deadline date.
(4) Within 30 days after the Panel’s last meeting to consider the application, the Panel must issue a written recommendation to the Administrator on whether the applicant qualifies for disability benefits.
(5) Before making its recommendation, the Panel must require the applicant to complete a medical examination, including relevant medical tests, by a medical doctor who is not a member of the Disability Review Panel, unless the Panel finds that a medical examination is unnecessary because of the nature and severity of the injury or illness. The County must pay the cost of the examination. The results of the examination must be given to the applicant or the applicant’s representative immediately after the County or the Panel receives it. The panel must issue its written recommendation within 30 days after the medical doctor reports to the Panel.
(6) Within 20 days after the Administrator receives the Panel’s recommendation, the Administrator must issue a final decision on whether the applicant is eligible for disability benefits under this Section. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 1; 1999 L.M.C., ch. 26, § 1; 2009 L.M.C., ch. 11, § 1; 2011 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1.)
(a) Notice to employee. The Chief Administrative Officer must notify an employee that an application for disability benefits should be made if the employee:
(1) becomes ill or injured; and
(2) is unable to perform at an acceptable level of competence the duties and responsibilities of the position to which the employee is assigned.
(b) Application by Chief Administrative Officer. If the employee does not apply for disability benefits, the Chief Administrative Officer may apply on behalf of the employee.
(c) Protection Against Fraud. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement or falsifies or permits to be falsified any record of the disability benefits plan in an attempt to defraud the disability benefits plan is subject to punishment for a class A violation. (1994 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 2.)
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