Eason v. City of Riverside

STONE, J.

Appellant, a police officer employed by respondent City of Riverside, was injured while acting within the course and scope of his employment on June 30, 1961. He filed a claim with the Industrial Accident Commission, which found that his industrial injury caused temporary total disability beginning August 17, 1961, through October 30, 1961, again beginning November 27, 1962, through December 3, 1962; again December 26, 1962; again beginning January 3, 1963, through January 7, 1963; again beginning January 9, 1963, through January 13, 1963; again beginning January 15, 1963, through June 25, 1963, and continuing thereafter.

Effective March 31, 1963, appellant was retired on permanent disability pension at the request of the chief of police. Appellant received his full salary from the date of injury until April 4, 1963. Part of that time he was employed at a desk job, but he was never able to resume Ms duties as a patrolman. When not worMng he was on leave of absence because of temporary disability resulting from the accident. The full salary paid him during his several leaves of absence covered a total of 32-2/7 weeks, spread over nearly two calendar years.

Appellant was a member of the State Employees’ Retirement System and as such he claims leave of absence salary for an additional 19-5/7 weeks, or a total of one year. Labor Code section 4850 provides that an employee who is injured in the course of his duty and suffers temporary disability, if a member of the State Employees’ Retirement System, is entitled to: “. . . leave of absence while so disabled without loss of salary, in lieu of temporary disability payments, if any, which would be payable under this chapter, for the period of such disability but not exceeding one year, or until such earlier date as he is retired on permanent disability pension. ’ ’

Two questions arise: first, the meaning of the language “not exceeding one year” and, second, the relation of this language to that which immediately follows, “or until such earlier date as he is retired on permanent disability pension.”

As to the first question, appellant contends that “not exceeding one year” means a cumulative total of 52 weeks so that the temporary disability resulting in leave of absence need not be continuous. Respondent asserts that “one year” means one calendar year from the date of injury.

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