Managing Employee Injuries and Disability and Occupational Safety

The court based its decision on the following factors, which, it concluded, showed that such off-duty physical exercise was a reasonable exercise was a reasonable expectancy of the officer’s employment:

1) The SRT maintained special physical fitness standards;

2) SRT members were required to take fitness tests;

3) SRT duty was physically demanding and required a high degree of agility;

4) SRT members were told of the necessity of off-duty exercise.

In contrast, in another recent case, an officer who served on the Hostage Negotiating Team (HNT) injured his knee while playing basketball in the City’s gym during his lunch hour. The officer was not required to play in the game. The City did not have formal physical fitness tests or guidelines. The City had exercise facilities available for employees’ use, subject to restrictions on use without prior department approval. The court denied compensability, because the City’s rules carefully spelled out the circumstances and conditions under which use of the City’s facilities were permitted, and what athletic activities were authorized. The City did not at that time have mandatory physical fitness standards or require fitness tests of its police officers. The court noted that in view of the department’s rules concerning pre-authorized athletic activities, the employer was entitled to limit its liability for workers’ compensation to injuries sustained in designated and pre-approved athletic activities. 27 h. Personnel Management/Risk Management Suggestion Employee athletic injuries constitute an area of substantial exposure. Specific steps can be taken in order to reduce the agency’s liability. Our recommendations include: 1) adopt a formalized policy concerning employee participation in athletic activities. If the agency provides recreational facilities, the policy should carefully spell out what activities are “authorized” by the agency. 2) If agency facilities are used, or the agency permits employees to conduct competitive athletic activities on agency property, each employee should sign an acknowledgment that his participation in these activities is purely voluntary. A sample form is included at the end of this section. 3) Insure that notices advising employees of the provisions of Labor Code Section 3600(a)(9) are conspicuously placed in areas where employees congregate and at any gym or other exercise facilities maintained by the agency for use by employees. These notices are ordinarily available from your workers’ compensation carrier or adjusting agent. The language approved by the Department of Industrial Relations reads as follows: “(Name of Employer) or its insurance carrier may not be liable for the payment of workers’ compensation benefits for any injury which arises out of an employee’s voluntary participation in any off-duty recreational, social or athletic activity which is not a part of the employee’s work-related duties.”

Managing Employee Injuries, Disability and Occupational Safety ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 25