Managing Employee Injuries and Disability and Occupational Safety

January 1, 2017, the maximum weekly benefit is $1172.57 (subject to increase by State Average Weekly Wage). Labor Code Sections 4653 – 4657.

3. L ABOR C ODE S ECTION 4850 B ENEFITS For PERS eligible public safety officers, temporary disability is replaced by a special leave of absence compensated by the payment of full salary for an aggregate of one year after the date of injury. Labor Code Section 4850. Thereafter, temporary disability benefits are paid according to Labor Code Sections 4653 – 4657. 4. M ETHOD OF P AYMENT Payments of temporary disability indemnity subsequent to the first payment are due every two weeks on the day designated with the first payment. Labor Code Section 4650. Unless otherwise ordered by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, compensation payments must be made directly to the employee in cash or by an immediately negotiable instrument. An employee may authorize direct deposit of the payments to a financial institution. Labor Code Section 4651. 6. W AITING P ERIOD Three days. Subject to certain exceptions, temporary compensation is payable beginning on the fourth day after the employee leaves work because of a compensable injury. The waiting period is intended to provide an employee with an incentive to return to work quickly when an injury is insignificant, to reduce the opportunity for false claims, to decrease the cost of administration, and to enable a greater proportion of the funds to be used for serious injuries. There is no waiting period if the employee is hospitalized as an inpatient or if the disability lasts for more than 14 cumulative days. In such cases, the employee receives benefits retroactive to the first day following the disability. Labor Code Section 4652. The three day waiting period applies to temporary disability under the Education Code, Section 89529.08 and Labor Code Section 4850 benefits. 39 7. A MOUNTS Generally speaking, an injured employee should not receive greater compensation than the wages he would have earned had he not been injured. However, the amount of compensation received may be affected by factors that result in an award that is larger or smaller than that prescribed by statute for the particular class of disability suffered. For example, the award may be increased because of an employer’s failure to secure benefits, because the injury was suffered by an illegally employed minor, or because of the employer’s serious and willful misconduct. 5. T IMING OF P AYMENTS If an injury causes temporary disability, the first payment of temporary disability indemnity shall be made not later than 14 days after knowledge of the injury and disability.

Managing Employee Injuries, Disability and Occupational Safety ©2019 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 35