Monday, August 25, 2014

Assemblywoman Gonzalez’s Bill To Protect All Peace Officers Injured in the Line of Duty Passes Full Legislature, Sent to Governor Brown

AB 2052 closes gaps in safety net for injured police, expanding coverage to all law enforcement officers


SACRAMENTO – (Monday, August 25, 2014) – The State Assembly voted today to send to Gov. Brown for his signature a bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) to ensure that all classifications of peace officers receive the workers' compensation health protection they deserve if they are injured in the line of duty.

“We can all agree that California has a moral responsibility to ensure every peace officer receives basic workers' compensation protections if they're injured in the line of duty,” Gonzalez said. “With AB 2052, the officers who protect students in our schools and universities, passengers in our airports and our transit systems, and many others whose protection we rely upon will be cared for.”

When the workers’ compensation section of the Labor Code was written in the 1970’s, the intent was to include all peace officers that performed the duties of active law enforcement as having a rebuttable presumption that certain injuries were related to their occupation. Assembly Bill 2052 will expand the existing workers' compensation protections or work-related injuries to new classifications of peace officers which didn't exist at that time, such as school police, transit police and airport police.

The bill was supported by twenty five public safety organizations including the Peace Officers Research Association of California, Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs, Association of Probation Supervisors, California Correctional Peace Officers Association, California School Employees Association, California State Firefighters’ Association, and State Coalition of Probation Organizations.

AB 2052 was approved by the Assembly on a 51-10 vote Monday after it passed the State Senate with 27-8 bipartisan vote last Thursday. Gov. Brown has until Sept. 30 to sign or veto the bill.


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