Can Police Officers Get Workers' Compensation Benefits?

Every day, police officers put their lives on the line to protect and serve their communities. If you’re a police officer, you know better than anyone all of the hazards your job can expose you to. You’re called into potentially dangerous situations where you aren’t sure about who or what in your immediate environment can hurt you.

Fortunately, police officers are eligible for workers’ comp benefits throughout California. This is important because police officers risk immense physical harm and serious bodily injury each time they respond to a call.

Like other occupations, law enforcement officers are eligible for the following workers’ comp benefits:

  • Medical bill and treatment coverage

  • Lost income from missed work

  • Disability payments

  • Death benefits (if injuries are fatal)

This means that those who protect their communities against crime and perform all sorts of other services for the public can get what they need in financial compensation after an accident.

When a police officer is injured and unable to work, you can receive one year of full salary in lieu of disability benefits, which are two-thirds of your salary.

When a police officer has a medical condition listed below, it is presumed that it is a work injury. You get the benefit of the doubt as to the cause of your injury that an injured worker in another industry may not get. This also allows you to receive medical treatment for that condition and disability benefits.

Payment at full salary under Labor Code 4850

A police officer includes:

  • a city police officer

  • sheriffs

  • other employees of a sheriff’s department

  • inspectors

  • investigators

  • detectives

  • other similar personnel in a district attorney’s office

  • county probation officers

  • group counselors

  • juvenile service officers

  • other employees of a probation office

  • park ranger

  • airport law enforcement

  • harbor police

It does not apply to other personnel such as telephone operators, clerks, stenographers, machinists, mechanics, or people whose functions do not fall within the scope of active law enforcement service.

A police officer is entitled to one year of full salary “4850 benefits” if he or she is unable to work due to a work injury. Workers in other industries would only receive temporary or permanent disability payments. Temporary disability is when you cannot work and still require treatment. Temporary disability benefits are limited to two-thirds of your salary and capped at a certain amount.

Permanent disability is when your condition is not going to change, and you have permanent loss of ability. Permanent disability benefits are capped at $290 a week. These awards benefits are not taxable. The one year of full salary for California police officers is often called Labor Code “4850 Benefits.” After the one-year period, police officers are entitled to receive temporary disability benefits if you still can’t work. However, a police officer cannot get both “4850 benefits” and disability benefits at the same time.

Are the benefits included in the limitation on temporary disability?

Any injured worker is only entitled to 104 weeks of “aggregate disability payments” within a five-year period of each injury.9 This means an injured worker can only get two years of temporary disability benefits in total for each injury.

Aggregate disability payments include the one-year full salary benefits that police officers get under Labor Code section 4850.10

In other words, a California police officer can get one year of benefits at full salary and one year of temporary disability benefits at two-thirds of your salary totaling two years of aggregate disability benefits.

Applying for workers’ compensation can be tricky whether you’re a police officer or not. That’s why Cole Fisher recommends consulting with a worker’s compensation specialist to advise you through the workers’ comp application process. This is an important application where every detail matters and mistakes can put your access to much-needed financial assets at stake.

Cole, Fisher, Cole, O’Keefe + Mahoney is Central California’s leading workers’ compensation and social security disability law firm. With over 30 years of successful experience, we are committed to securing maximum benefits for our clients in the Fresno, California area. Schedule a free consultation today.

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