BILL ANALYSIS Ó
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 527|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 527
Author: Block (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 4/10/13
AYES: Lieu, Wyland, Leno, Padilla, Yee
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: public employees: leaves of
absence
SOURCE : California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
DIGEST : This bill allows lifeguards employed year-round by
the City of San Diego on a regular, full-time basis by the City
of San Diego to be eligible for 4850 leave.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes a workers' compensation
system that provides benefits to an employee who suffers from an
injury or illness that arises out of and in the course of
employment, irrespective of fault. This system requires all
employers to secure payment of benefits by either securing the
consent of the Department of Industrial Relations to self-insure
or by securing insurance against liability from an insurance
company duly authorized by the state.
Existing law provides that certain public employees employed on
a regular, full-time basis regardless of their period of
service, who incur on the job injury or illness, are entitled to
receive disability payment for up to one year or earlier if the
CONTINUED
SB 527
Page
2
employee retired on permanent disability, and is actually
receiving disability pension payment. These employees include:
1. City police officers;
2. City, county, or district firefighters;
3. Sheriffs;
4. Inspectors, investigators, detectives, or personnel with
comparable titles in any district attorney's office;
5. County probation officers, group counselors, or juvenile
services officers; and
6. Lifeguards employed by a county of the first class.
This leave of absence is set forth in Labor Code Section 4850
and is sometimes referred to as "4850 leave".
This bill allows lifeguards employed year-round by the City of
San Diego on a regular, full-time basis by the City of San Diego
to be eligible for 4850 leave.
Comments
The author's office notes, while that existing law provides 4850
leave for full-time lifeguards employed by the County of Los
Angeles, existing law does not provide leave for lifeguards
employed by cities. This includes the City of San Diego, which
has lifeguards patrolling similar coast lines with similar
responsibilities, including water rescue and providing emergency
medical assistance to beachgoers. Lifeguards for the City of San
Diego are also certified as Emergency Medical Technicians
(EMTs).
Additionally, according to the City of San Diego's Lifeguard
Services Web site, all San Diego lifeguards are classified as
peace officers and enforce beach regulations, which can include
citation, arrests, and impounding vessels. The Web site also
notes that lifeguards are expected to staff the Lifeguard
Communications Center 24 hours a day, which involves routing 911
calls and marine radio distress calls.
CONTINUED
SB 527
Page
3
The author and proponents argue that these job roles are
virtually indistinguishable from lifeguards currently covered by
4850 leave, but City of San Diego lifeguards are not covered
because they are not employed by a County. This bill addresses
this by extending the provisions of 4850 leave to the City of
San Diego's lifeguards.
Number of lifeguards impacted by this bill . The City of San
Diego's Lifeguard Services Web site states that the City's
lifeguard department is one of the largest in the country,
currently employing close to 300 lifeguards. Los Angeles County
employs 132 full time lifeguards and 650 seasonal lifeguards.
Prior Legislation
AB 2397 (Solorio, 2010) would have authorized a public agency
and a peace officer to mutually agree to extend a leave of
absence with full pay applicable to the public safety officer
injured on the job beyond the one year period authorized by law
for up to one additional year. The bill was vetoed by Governor
Schwarzenegger.
AB 1227 (Feuer, Chapter 389, Statutes 2009) removed the
requirement that safety officers can only be eligible for 4850
leave time if they belong to a public retirement system, and
instead only required that the safety officers be employed on a
regular, full-time basis.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/11/13)
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council (source)
California Applicants Attorneys Association
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents argue that lifeguards
employed by the City of San Diego have a virtually identical set
of responsibilities to lifeguards employed by Los Angeles
County, yet San Diego's lifeguards do not qualify for 4850
leave. Proponents also note that San Diego's lifeguards are
trained as EMTs and act peace officers when enforcing beach
CONTINUED
SB 527
Page
4
regulations, which can arrests and citations. Noting that the
City of San Diego's lifeguards are a division of San Diego's
Fire-Rescue Department, and many of the personnel in that
Department are currently cover by 4850 leave.
PQ:k 4/11/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED