BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1227
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1227 (Feuer)
As Introduced February 27, 2009
Majority vote
INSURANCE 7-3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Coto, Charles Calderon, | | |
| |Carter, Feuer, Hayashi, | | |
| |Hill, Torres | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Garrick, Blakeslee, | | |
| |Niello | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Extends "4850" leave of absence benefits to a broader
range of safety officers. Specifically, this bill :
1)Repeals the restriction in Labor Code Section 4850 that limits
"4850" time - time off with full pay -- to safety officers who
are members of three specified retirement systems.
2)Adds local park rangers, California Community College police,
and school district police, as defined by the Penal Code, to
the list of safety officers who are entitled to 4850 time.
3)Limits 4850 time to safety officers who are employed on a
regular, full-time basis.
4)Specifies that the bill does not establish 4850 benefits for
employees otherwise covered by the bill who are employed by
the City and County of San Francisco.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes a comprehensive system of workers' compensation
that provides a range of benefits for employees who are
injured on the job, including temporary disability payments,
which are designed to be wage replacement payments for the
period the injured employee is temporarily unable to work due
to the on-the-job injury.
AB 1227
Page 2
2)Provides that certain safety officers who are members of the
Public Employees Retirement System, the Los Angeles City
Employees Retirement System, or subject to the County
Employees Retirement Law of 1937, who are injured on the job
are entitled to a "leave of absence" of up to one year with
full pay in lieu of temporary disability payments. This
benefit, established by Labor Code Section 4850, is commonly
referred to as "4850" time.
3)Lists the following safety officers as being eligible for 4850
time: city police officers, county sheriffs and sheriffs'
deputies, city, county or district firefighters, district
attorney investigators, probation officers, certain special
district police officers, and certain lifeguards.
FISCAL EFFECT : Undetermined
COMMENTS :
1)According to the author, this bill rectifies an inequity in
current law whereby most safety officers receive the benefits
of 4850 time when they are injured on the job, but other
similar safety officers who are not members of the three
listed retirement systems do not receive this benefit. The
author, and the sponsor Police Officers Research Association
of California , assert that it was an oversight that these
safety officers were left out of Section 4850.
2)As a general rule, injured employees are entitled to temporary
disability benefits equal to 2/3 of their regular wages. This
target of replacing 2/3 of wages during the period an employee
is off work is designed to make the employee whole, since
workers' compensation benefits are not subject to social
security or income taxes. Thus, the 2/3 rate is designed to
approximate full take home pay. However, for safety officers,
in recognition of the dangers they inherently face on the job,
a more generous benefit was created. As interpreted by the
courts, the safety officer receives his or her full pay,
tax-free, for up to one year after the injury. Subsequent to
the one-year period, if the officer is still temporarily
disabled, he or she would receive the same temporary
disability benefits as any other injured worker.
3)The opposition, representatives of cities, counties and other
AB 1227
Page 3
public agencies such as fire and school districts, that employ
safety officers contend that existing law was intentionally
applied only to those safety officers who are members of the
three specified retirement systems. They argue that local
agencies that are part of other retirement systems provide
local benefits, often comparable to what state law provides in
Section 4850.
Opponents also point out some of the difficulties that local
agencies face when their employees are out on 4850 time. They
cite studies that show "it takes approximately twice as long
for an injury that qualifies for Labor Code 4850 benefits to
heal as does an injury for a non-Labor Code 4850" case. They
argue that this is at least partly due to the perverse
incentive that an officer on 4850 time is making more than
their usual take home pay. Opponents also argue that since
they cannot yet replace the officer who is on the 4850 leave,
they end up paying other officers time and a half to cover the
shifts of the injured officer, thus imposing even more costs
on the local agency. For those local agencies that are not
covered by 4850, but that have crafted appropriate local
benefit programs, extending 4850 to them would increase their
costs.
4)Last session, AB 419 (Lieber) was passed by the Assembly in
2007. It was later amended in the Senate, and ultimately sent
to the Governor in 2008 in the same form as AB 1227 as
introduced. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed AB 419. The veto
message from the Governor provides: "This bill would increase
workers' compensation costs to some cities and counties by
requiring them to provide certain injured workers a leave of
absence without loss of salary in lieu of regular temporary
disability payments. While this benefit is currently
conferred on some sworn peace officers, this bill would expand
it to park rangers, community college police, and many others.
Eligibility for this benefit is best left to locals, not the
state, to determine."
Analysis Prepared by : Mark Rakich / INS. / (916) 319-2086
FN: 0000599