disability insurance

[Guest Brownlaw]

May a municipal employer, that has provided long term disability insurance to all of its municipal employees, use a state statute (NJSA 40A:14-154) to reduce and eliminate

LTD benefits to only its municipal police officers?

Historically, the municipal employer had purchased group long term disability insurance for all of its employees. During the 1980's, an arbitrator determined that the municipal employer did not purchase the proper policy according to a police union collective bargaining agreement.

The arbitrator ordered the municipal employer to make any disabled police officer applying for LTD whole according to the CBA by making the payments directly from the municipal

budget rather than from collecting from the insurance carrier.

What parts of the IRC would be applicable to help the disabled police officers from the employer using this state

statute from reducing and/or eliminating their LTD benefits?

Any thoughts out there??