State of California

M E M O R A N D U M

To:       PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT LIAISONS       Date:    December 15, 1992
                                                  Reference Code:     92-127

          THIS MEMORANDUM SHOULD BE DISTRIBUTED TO ALL
          PERSONNEL OFFICERS, LABOR RELATIONS OFFICERS,
          WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND SAFETY OFFICERS, AND
          PERSONNEL TRANSACTIONS STAFF


From:          Department of Personnel Administration

Subject:  INDUSTRIAL DISABILITY BENEFITS FOR UNITS 1, 4, 15, 18 & 20


Pursuant to the Memoranda of Understanding for Units 1, 4, 15, 18, and 20, Senate Bill 465
and Assembly Bill 1061 were passed in 1992.  There were three main reasons for the
legislation: (1) to increase the benefit payments to industrially injured workers, (2) to ensure
that injured workers were returned to work, if possible, instead of being retired, and (3) to
reduce the cost of vocational rehabilitation training programs in cases where the employee
has the skills and abilities to perform another job in state service.

The new and/or amended code sections which implement these changes are Government
Code Sections 19876.5, 20038.5, 21020.5, 21020.6, and 21292.4, and Labor Code Section
139.5.  These sections:

    Broaden the definition of industrial disability to mean "disabled from any job in state
     service" instead of "disabled from the current position".

    Increase the benefits that industrially disabled employees will receive by (1) putting
     stronger emphasis on the continuing employment of disabled employees, (2) giving
     supplemental disability pay to employees who are placed in lower salaried positions,
     and (3) increasing the maximum Industrial Disability Retirement (IDR) benefit from
     50% to 60%.

    Give the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) the authority to make the
     disability determinations and to be reimbursed by the departments for the
     administration of this program.

Following are summaries of the eligibility requirements and benefits, and a brief overview
describing how these benefits will be administered.  Procedures are currently being
developed by the DPA.

Until procedures are developed, departments should notify DPA directly for each injury
occurring on or after January 1, 1993 which the department believes will result in
supplemental disability payments or IDR under these sections.  To request a supplemental
disability payment after employee has been returned to work, contact Nora Cheek at (916)
324-4058 (Caldex 454-4058).   For IDRs, before the application is filed with PERS, send a
copy to: DPA Benefits Division, 1515 S Street, North Building, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA
95814, Attention: Nora Cheek.


ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES

Employees who suffer industrial injuries or illness and who, on a permanent basis, are no
longer able to perform the duties of their current positions, are eligible for these benefits if
they are:

    Rank and file employees in Bargaining Units 1, 4, 15, 18, and 20, and

    Suffer the industrial injury or illness on or after January 1, 1993, and

    Are state miscellaneous, industrial, or safety members of the Public Employees'
     Retirement System (PERS), and

    Suffer the injury or illness under the following circumstances:
     
     State Miscellaneous Members
     The injury or illness occurs as a result of a violent act by a patient or client while
     performing duties at Patton State Hospital, Atascadero State Hospital, the psychiatric
     program at the California Medical Facility at Vacaville, or other forensic facility, or
     
     The injury or illness occurs as a result of a violent act by an inmate or parolee either
     (1) while performing duties at a state prison or facility of the Department of
     Corrections, or a correctional school or facility of the Youth Authority or (2)
     elsewhere while acting in the scope of employment which involves contact with
     inmates or parolees.
     
     State Industrial Members
     The injury or illness occurs as a result of a violent act by an inmate or parolee either
     (1) while performing duties at a state prison or facility of the Department of
     Corrections, or a correctional school or facility of the Youth Authority or (2)
     elsewhere while acting in the scope of employment which involves contact with
     inmates or parolees.
     
     State Safety Members
     The injury or illness occurs as a result of employment as a safety member.
     
In the past, an industrially injured employee might have been offered vocational rehabilitation
training or IDR if the employee could no longer perform the duties of his/her current
position.  Now, the employee will only be eligible for vocational rehabilitation training and
IDR if he/she cannot perform any job in state service.

The employee is no longer limited to jobs within his/her current classification and
department.  The employee may be offered any job in state service as long as (1) the
employee has the skills, knowledges and abilities for the new position, and (2) the
employee's medical conditions do not preclude him/her from performing the duties of the
new position.

If the employee is offered a job in state service at the same or similar salary, and the
position is in the same or similar location, the offer would be considered vocational
rehabilitation and the employee would no longer be eligible for a training program.  The
offer of a job would also make the employee ineligible for IDR.  If the employee declines
the offer, he/she would no longer be eligible for disability benefits.


BENEFITS

SUPPLEMENTAL DISABILITY PAY

Injured employees who are transferred into positions with lower salaries are eligible to
receive a monthly supplemental disability payments.  The supplemental amount will be the
difference between the new salary and the salary the employee was earning at the time the
injury occurred.  The supplement will be paid by PERS and will be considered a disability
benefit; as such, it will not be taxable.  The supplement will be paid until the new salary
increases to the level of the salary that the employee was earning at the time of the disability. 
Increases in salary occur when the employee receives Merit Salary Adjustments, Special In-
Grade Salary Increases, general salary increases, or any other changes to the salary of either
the individual or the classification.

INDUSTRIAL DISABILITY RETIREMENT

If the department finds the employee cannot perform the duties of any job in state service,
the department can apply for IDR for the employee.  DPA must approve the application
indicating that they agree that the employee is unable to perform any job in state service. 
Employees may apply for IDR on their own behalf, but they must prove that they are unable
to perform any job in state service.

If the IDR is approved, the employee are eligible for a maximum of (1) 60% of the final
compensation plus an annuity purchased with the employee's accumulated additional PERS
contributions, or, (2) if qualified for service retirement, the amount of the service retirement
minus the amount of the annuity, up to a maximum of 75% of final compensation.

This maximum applies to:

    All eligible employees whose injuries are due to violent acts

    All eligible employees who entered their current PERS membership category
     (miscellaneous, industrial, or safety) prior to January 1, 1980.

Because miscellaneous and industrial members are only covered under these sections if they
sustain their injuries as a result of a violent act, they would always be eligible for the
maximum benefit.

For state safety members whose injuries are not a result of a violent act and who became
state safety members of PERS after January 1, 1980, the maximum benefit shall not exceed
the service retirement allowance that would be payable as a result of service if the member's
service as a safety member had continued to age 55.


PROCEDURES

During the next three months, DPA will be developing the procedures for processing
requests for supplemental pay and for IDR, including application forms, determination
criteria, and appeal procedures.  DPA also anticipates offering a classification and placement
service, on a reimbursesable basis,  to help departments in their return-to-work efforts of
placing disabled employees.  It is anticipated that the procedures will be distributed by
Personnel Management Liaison memo by April 1, 1993.



Patricia Pavone, Chief
Benefits and Training Division