BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2397
Author: Solorio (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 4-1, 6/23/10
AYES: DeSaulnier, Ducheny, Leno, Yee
NOES: Hollingsworth
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-17, 5/13/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Workers compensation: public employees:
leaves of
absence
SOURCE : Peace Officers Research Association of
California
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a public agency and a
public safety 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.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Establishes a workers' compensation system that provides
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benefits to an employee injured at work, 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.
2. These benefits include 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. Temporary disability
benefits are intended to replace two-thirds of the
employee's regular wages, subject to a maximum cap. The
cap is currently $728 per week.
3. 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. This leave of absence is set forth in Section
4850 of the Labor Code.
4. Provides that when a disability of a peace officer
continues for a period beyond one year, the officer must
be subject to the provisions of workers' compensation
law other than Section 4850 during the remainder of the
period of the peace officer's disability or until the
effective date of his retirement under the Public
Employees' Retirement Act. Under these circumstances,
the leave of absence must continue.
This bill authorizes 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.
Prior Legislation
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
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system, and instead only requires that the safety officers
be employed on a regular, full-time basis. The bill passed
the Senate Floor (26-8) on September 9, 2009.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/10)
Peace Officers Research Association of California (source)
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Fire Fighters Association
California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing
Committee
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/24/10)
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Coalition on Workers Compensation
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Supporters argue that this bill is
a simple measure that provides flexibility for both
employers and employees, and addresses the fact that few
agencies or employees think about this issue until
circumstances present an employee not quite ready to return
to work. Supporters also note that in this bill this
agreement is optional, and will ensure that a peace officer
who wishes to return to work but is not immediately healthy
enough to do so after a year will be able to negotiate an
agreement for additional time for treatment.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue that a
negotiated rule or plan is preferable to this bill because
an employer is placed in the untenable position of risking
the appearance of favoritism if it is required to respond
to individual requests, and that the bill is less favorable
to the employee than the current law because the salary
continuation plan law does not have a one-year cap.
Opponents also note that regular 4850 time, plus AB 2397
time, plus the two years of regular temporary disability
that public safety officers are entitled to means that an
officer can be paid for four years after an injury without
returning to work, at substantial cost to the local
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government employer.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, Davis, De La
Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Furutani, Galgiani, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Monning, Nava, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Solorio, Swanson, Torlakson,
Torres, Torrico, Yamada, John A. Perez
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Conway, DeVore,
Gaines, Garrick, Gilmore, Harkey, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Niello, Smyth, Audra Strickland, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Cook, Emmerson, Fletcher,
Fuller, Hagman, Jeffries, Nielsen, Norby, Silva, Skinner,
Tran, Vacancy
PQ:mw 6/25/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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