BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 586|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 586
Author: Ma (D), et al
Amended: 3/23/10 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE LAB. & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/3/10
AYES: DeSaulnier, Wyland, Ducheny, Hollingsworth, Leno,
Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: employees of the City and
County
of San Francisco: leaves of absence
SOURCE : City and County of San Francisco
Peace Officers Research Association of
California
DIGEST : This bill corrects an inadvertent drafting error
that excluded San Francisco deputy sheriffs, probation
officers, institutional police, and certain members of the
District Attorney's office from receiving workers'
compensation benefits for work-related injuries or
illnesses.
ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes a comprehensive
system of workers' compensation that provides a range of
benefits for employees who are injured on the job. These
benefits include temporary disability payments, which are
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designed to be wage replacement payments for the period the
injured employee is temporarily unable to work due to the
on-the-job injury. Temporary disability benefits are
intended to replace two-thirds of the employee's regular
wages, subject to a maximum cap.
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 employee retired on permanent
disability, and is actually receiving disability pension
payment.
Existing law lists the following safety officers as being
eligible for benefits:
city police officers; county sheriffs and sheriffs'
deputies; city, county or district firefighters; district
attorney investigators; probation officers; certain special
district police officers; certain lifeguards; certain
airport law enforcement officers; certain harbor security
personnel; and police officers of the Los Angeles Unified
School District.
Existing law denies eligibility to persons who work in
safety-related offices who are classified as clerks,
stenographers, telephone operators, machinists, and
mechanics.
Existing law specifies certain public employees to whom the
above-described provisions do not apply, including certain
employees of the City and County of San Francisco.
This bill corrects an inadvertent drafting error that
excluded San Francisco deputy sheriffs, probation officers,
institutional police, and certain members of the District
Attorney's office from receiving workers' compensation
benefits for work-related injuries or illnesses.
Prior Legislation
AB 1227 (Feuer), Chapter 389, Statutes of 2009, this bill,
relating to workers' compensation, removes the restriction
on "one-year leave of absence with full salary (4850 time)"
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that provides that only specified safety employees who are
members of certain pension plans are eligible. Passed the
Senate Floor with a vote of 26-8, 9/9/09.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/3/10)
City and County of San Francisco (co-source)
Peace Officers Research Association of California
(co-source)
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : A drafting error in prior
legislation inadvertently caused some San Francisco peace
officers that were already covered by Labor Code Section
4850 leave time to lose the benefit. The proponents note
that 4850 "time" is a critical tool for officers injured in
the line of duty, and that this accidental exclusion
unfairly deprives the hard-working safety officers of the
City and County of San Francisco the necessary leave to
heal from occupational injuries.
PQ:do 5/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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