Labor Code 4656 Update: Mt. Diablo USC v WCAB (Rollick) and Brooks v. WCAB

By
Megan K. Rogers

Mt. Diablo USC v WCAB (Rollick) (2008) 2008 Cal. App. LEXIS 1222

The Appellate court determined that benefits provided under Education Code Section 44043 constitute temporary disability benefits and are part of the applicant's two-year window of temporary total disability benefits. These benefits are included applicant's TTD benefit and therefore are to be counted toward the two- year/104-week payment limitation under Labor Code § 4656(C)(1).

The Court found that the Education Code specifically provides that an injured employee, in order to take advantage of the ability to supplement TTD benefits with accumulated leave benefits, was required to turn over the TTD check to the District or keep the check and the employer will simply supplement the TTD with an additional payment, that, when added to TTD, provides for full payment of salary to the employee.

The Appellate Court was also unimpressed with the effort to characterize the payments as analogous to Labor Code § 4850 payments for public safety officers. When comparing Labor Code 4850 with section Edu. Code 44043, there are completely distinct provisions. Edu. Code 44043 provides for payment of accumulated leave time in addition to temporary disability payments. Thus, Edu. Code 44043 payments are contingent on receiving temporary disability benefits and end when leave time is exhausted. Edu. Code 44043 provides a different and inferior benefit than Labor Code section 4850.

Brooks v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd., (2008) 161 Cal. App. 4th 1522

The Fifth District Court of Appeal determined Lab. Code, § 4656(c)(1) applies to both Industrial disability leave and TD. The two-year limitation is not restricted to TD benefits payable under the workers' compensation statutes but is more broadly applied to aggregate disability payments for a single injury.

The facts are as follows: The employee remained totally temporarily disabled after receiving one year of Industrial disability leave indemnity and a subsequent year of TD payments as provided in Gov. Code, § 19874(a). The court held that the two-year limitation on TD benefits established under Lab. Code, § 4656(c)(1), meant that the employee was limited to only two years of combined Industrial disability leave and TD indemnity; she could not receive two years of TD after her initial year of Industrial disability leave payments ceased. Gov. Code, § 19870(a), expressly provided that IDL meant temporary disability.