BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2378|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2378
Author: Perea (D), et al.
Amended: 5/23/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 6/25/14
AYES: Hueso, Wyland, Leno, Padilla, Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-8, 5/28/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Workers' compensation: temporary disability
payments
SOURCE : California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO
California Professional Firefighters
DIGEST : This bill provides that, with respect to certain fire
and peace officer employees, the right to a leave of absence for
up to one year with full pay as a result of on-the-job
disability does not offset any portion of those employees' right
to up to 104 weeks of temporary disability benefits.
ANALYSIS : Under federal tax law both temporary disability
benefits and "4850 leave" are exempt from taxation.
Existing state law:
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1. 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.
2. Provides that certain peace officers and fire fighters
employed on a regular, full-time basis who incur on the job
injury or illness, are entitled to receive disability payment
for up to one year. These employees include:
A. City police officers.
B. City, county, or district firefighters.
C. Sheriffs.
D. Inspectors, investigators, detectives, or personnel with
comparable titles in any district attorney's office.
E. County probation officers, group counselors, or juvenile
services officers, and Lifeguards employed by a county of
the first class or the City of San Diego.
F. Airport law enforcement officers.
G. Harbor or port police officers, wardens, or special
officers of a harbor or port district or city or county
harbor department.
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H. Police officers of the Los Angeles Unified School
District.
This leave is awarded irrespective of service, and it can be
less than a year if the employee retired on permanent
disability, and is actually receiving disability pension
payment. This leave of absence is set forth in Labor Code
Section 4850 and is sometimes referred to as "4850 leave".
1. Provides similar leaves of absence for similarly situated
peace officers, such as Department of Justice peace officers,
California Highway Patrol officers, and University of
California peace officers and firefighters.
2. Provides for the payment of indemnity benefits if the
occupational injury causes temporary or permanent disability
which prevents the worker from returning to his/her job. In
the case of temporary disability payments, the benefit is
two-thirds of the weekly loss in wages due to disability for
up to 104 weeks within five years.
This bill:
1)Contains Legislative findings and declarations to the effect
that:
A. Courts are supposed to liberally construe the workers'
compensation laws for the purpose of extending benefits to
workers whose injuries arise out of or in the course of
employment;
B. AB 338 (Coto), Chapter 595, Statutes of 2007, was
intended to ameliorate an unintended consequence of the
temporary disability law adopted in 2004 that limited the
duration of temporary disability to two years;
C. AB 338 was not intended to limit or reduce compensation
paid to certain fire and peace officer employees pursuant
to Labor Code Sections 4800 and 4850;
D. The Court of Appeal issued a decision in 2013 that
wrongly interprets existing law, and AB 338, with the
consequence of wrongfully denying these fire and peace
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officer employees the full benefits that the statues
intended to provide to them; and
E. That it is imperative that the Legislature act to
abrogate the Court's holding and restore the Legislature's
intent to provide benefits to these employees.
2)Specifies that benefits provided by Labor Code Sections 4800,
et seq, and 4850, et seq, are payable in addition to the
maximum payments available under Section 4656, the temporary
disability statute.
3)Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to abrogate
the holding in County of Alameda v. Workers' Compensation
Appeals Board (Knittel) (2013) 213 Cal.App.4th 278.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, available
workers' compensation data indicate that this bill may result in
annual costs to the state, likely in the hundreds of thousands
of dollars (various funds, as specified).
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/14)
California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO (co-source)
California Professional Firefighters (co-source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees,
AFL-CIO
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs' Association
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Association of Professional Employees
California School Employees Association, AFL-CIO
Glendale City Employees Association
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Los Angeles Probation Officers' Union, AFSCME, Local 685
Organization of SMUD Employees
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
San Bernardino Public Employees Association
San Luis Obispo County Employees Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/21/14)
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California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Coalition on Workers' Compensation
California Joint Powers Insurance Authorities
California Special Districts Association
California State Association of Counties
Cities of Redwood and Sacramento
City and County of San Francisco
City of Cerritos
County of Los Angeles
CSAC Excess Insurance Authority
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Rural County Representatives of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Proponents argue that, historically,
peace officers and firefighters have been eligible for both one
year of disability leave and two years of temporary disability.
With the Knittel decision, however, proponents argue that the
Legislature's original intent has been lost. Proponents argue
that this bill returns temporary disability provisions for
California's peace officers and firefighters to its original
intent.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Opponents argue that the Knittel
decision accurately interprets the law, and therefore that this
bill is a benefit increase for peace officers and firefighters.
Opponents argue that this bill is an expensive increase in
workers' compensation costs, with the City and County of San
Francisco reporting that their costs alone will be an additional
$1 million per year. Opponents also argue that additional
disability benefits encourages longer periods of disability,
leading to higher overtime costs and/or service reductions.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 66-8, 5/28/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Medina,
Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson,
Perea, John A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva,
Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
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Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Allen, Conway, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Grove, Harkey,
Mansoor, Melendez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ch�vez, Frazier, Gorell, Logue, Wagner,
Vacancy
PQ:d 8/21/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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