Public safety officers are only entitled to 104 weeks of temporary disability and not an additional year of 4850 time
- Posted By: Harvey Brown
- February 1, 2013
This is a published decision of the appellate court
This is a very significant case for workers’ compensation principles.
The applicant suffered a compensable injury to his knee while working as a Deputy Sheriff. The applicant collected 4850 for one year after the injury. The applicant then collected “regular” temporary disability (TD) benefits for another year. The county then ceased to pay temporary disability benefits even though doctors still had the applicant temporarily disabled.
At a hearing the Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) gave the applicant 4850 time plus two years of TD. The defendant filed a Petition For Reconsideration and the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) denied the petition.
The appellate court reviewed the legislation and case law. The term they looked at was “aggregate temporary disability”. The court determined that the legislature expressed its intent in Labor Code section 4656 (c) (2) that 4850 time must count toward the 104 week limit of collecting temporary disability.
There was a compelling policy argument that this will save public entities tens of millions of dollars per year.
- Posted In: Disability, Work Injury
Volunteer member of a mounted posse program is not considered an employee for Workers’ Compensation benefits
- Posted By: Harvey Brown
- January 1, 2013
This is a non published case of the Court of Appeal
This is a very significant case for workers’ compensation principles.
The applicant suffered compensable injuries when the horse she was riding was spooked and she was thrown off.
Applicant was a member of the “Mounted Posse Program.”
The duties of the posse are prescribed in a county manual. Members of the posse must pass a background check. The members are trained in traffic control, crowd management, crime scene protection and first aid. The manual prescribes proper uniforms. Applicant was injured while doing training
The Workers’ Compensation Judge (WCJ) found the applicant was not a covered employee for benefits. The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) reversed and ruled she was a covered employee entitled to benefits.
The appellate court looked at the concept of “posse comitatus.” They believed this group existed for ceremonial and publicity purposes as opposed to assisting existing law enforcement. The applicant was not performing any active law enforcement at the time of her injury. Therefore, she was not a covered employee. They did not believe the Laeng decision was comparable.
- Posted In: Work Injury