Amended in Assembly June 16, 2016

Amended in Senate May 11, 2016

Amended in Senate March 29, 2016

Senate BillNo. 897


Introduced by Senator Roth

(Coauthor: Senator Stone)

January 21, 2016


An act to add Section 4850.1 to the Labor Code, relating to workers’ compensation.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 897, as amended, Roth. Workers’ compensation.

Existing law provides that certain peace officers, firefighters, and other specified public employees are entitled to a leave of absence without loss of salary while disabled by injury or illness arising out of and in the course of employment, for the period of the disability, not to exceed one year. The leave of absence is in lieu of temporary disability payments or maintenance allowance payments otherwise payable under the workers’ compensation system.

This bill would allow certain employees of local agencies, including police officers, firefighters, and sheriffs, an additional year of a leave of absence without loss of salary when injured by a catastrophic injury at the hands of another, as defined.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 4850.1 is added to the Labor Code, to
2read:

3

4850.1.  

(a) begin insert(1)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insert(A)end insertbegin insertend insert For purposes of this section, “catastrophic
4injury at the hands of another” includes the following injuries:
5severe burns, severe bodily injuries resulting from the collapse of
6a building, and severe bodily injuries resulting from a shooting or
7stabbing.begin delete Aend delete

8begin insert(B)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertAend insert catastrophic injury must have been incurred, during duty,
9through the direct result of the actions of another, including a
10
begin delete battery, or throughend deletebegin insert battery.end insert

11begin insert(2)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertA “catastrophic injury at the hands of another” shall also
12include a catastrophic injury as described in subparagraph (A) of
13paragraph (1) that occurs duringend insert
active firefighting operations
14without respect to the cause of the fire.

15(b) Whenever any person listed inbegin delete this subdivision,end deletebegin insert subdivision
16(c),end insert
who is employed on a regular, full-time basis, and is
17temporarily disabled, as determined by a physician, by a
18catastrophic injury at the hands of another, he or she shall become
19entitled, regardless of his or her period of service with the city,
20county, or district, to a leave of absence while so disabled without
21loss of salary in lieu of temporary disability payments or
22maintenance allowance payments, if any, that would be payable
23under thisbegin delete chapter,end deletebegin insert chapterend insert for the period of the disability, and an
24additional year to the one-year period pursuant to Section 4850,
25but no more than two years total, or until that earlier date as he or
26she is retired on permanent disability pension, and is actually
27receiving disability pension payments, or advanced disability
28pension payments pursuant to Section 4850.3.

29(c) The persons eligible under subdivision (b) include all of the
30following:

31(1) City police officers.

32(2) City, county, or district firefighters.

33(3) Sheriffs.

34(d) This section shall apply only to persons listed in subdivision
35 (c) who meet the requirements of subdivision (b), and shall not
36include any of the following:

37(1) Employees of a police department whose principal duties
38are those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist,
P3    1mechanic, or otherwise, and whose functions do not clearly fall
2within the scope of active law enforcement service.

3(2) Employees of a county sheriff’s office whose principal duties
4are those of a telephone operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist,
5mechanic, or otherwise, and whose functions do not clearly come
6within the scope of active law enforcement service.

7(3) Employees of a city fire department, county fire department,
8or fire district whose principal duties are those of a telephone
9operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist, mechanic, or otherwise,
10and whose functions do not clearly fall within the scope of active
11firefighting and prevention service.

12(e) If the employer is insured, the payments that, except for this
13section, the insurer would be obligated to make as disability
14indemnity to the injured, the insurer may pay to the insured.

15(f) No leave of absence taken pursuant to this section by a city,
16county, or district firefighter shall be deemed to constitute family
17care and medical leave, as defined in Section 12945.2 of the
18Government Code, or to reduce the time authorized for family care
19and medical leave by Section 12945.2 of the Government Code.

20(g) This section shall not apply to any persons described in
21paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (c) who are employees of the
22City and County of San Francisco.

23(h) A benefit received pursuant to this section is a temporary
24disability benefit and is subject to the aggregate disability payments
25time limit pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 4656.



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