by Denise Trani-Morris
Just as in any other job, California state employees can be incapacitated in this line of duty and can receive certain special disability retirement benefits. However, once deemed no longer incapacitated, the employee must be reinstated. This was reaffirmed by a recent appeals case.
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The Second Appellate District recently made clear that the California Department of Justice (DOJ) has a mandatory duty to reemploy a peace officer who has been deemed no longer incapacitated by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), and the DOJ cannot impose any conditions on the officer’s reinstatement.
For example, it cannot require a determination by CalPERS that the officer doesn’t suffer from any other physical or mental conditions that would prevent him or her from meeting the minimum standards for peace officers set forth in Government Code Section 1031.
DOJ Offers Reinstatement—With Conditions
CalPERS manages retirement benefits for public employees. Certain employees, including peace officers, who are “incapacitated for the performance of a duty as a result of an industrial disability,” are eligible for special disability retirement benefits.
State safety employees who receive disability retirement can apply for reinstatement when they are no longer mentally or physically incapacitated from duty. The state, in turn, is obligated to reinstate employees who received disability retirement in accordance with the provisions of Government Code Section 21193.
However, in one recent case the issues at hand came into question. Read on for the details and their implications under California law.