What standard determines whether I am disabled?

To be considered disabled, your retirement board must find that you are permanently disabled from performing the essential duties of your position.

If you are applying for an accidental disability retirement, your retirement board must also find that your incapacity is the natural and proximate result of sustaining an injury or undergoing a hazard as a result of, and while in the performance of your duties, at a definite time and place, without willful and serious misconduct on your part.

What is the definition of an essential duty?

• Essential Duties
  Essential duties are those duties or functions of a job or position that must necessarily be performed by an employee to accomplish the principal object(s) of the job or position. The essential duties are those that bear more than a marginal relationship to the job or position. Your employer makes the determination of what constitutes an essential duty within the context of the PERAC guidelines.