(a) Whenever any member of the Department of Justice falling within the “state peace officer/firefighter” class is disabled by injury arising out of and in the course of his or her duties, he or she shall become entitled, regardless of his or her period of service with the Department of Justice to leave of absence while so disabled without loss of salary, in lieu of disability payments under this chapter, for a period not exceeding one year. This section applies only to members of the Department of Justice whose principal duties consist of active law enforcement and does not apply to persons employed in the Department of Justice whose principal duties are those of telephone operator, clerk, stenographer, machinist, mechanic, or otherwise clearly not falling within the scope of active law enforcement service, even though this person is subject to occasional call or is occasionally called upon to perform duties within the scope of active law enforcement service.
(b) This section applies to law enforcement officers employed by the Department of Fish and Wildlife who are described in subdivision (e) of Section 830.2 of the Penal Code.
(c) This section applies to harbor police officers employed by the San Francisco Port Commission who are described in Section 20402 of the Government Code.
(d) This section shall does not apply to periods of disability that occur subsequent to termination of employment by resignation, retirement, or dismissal. When this section does not apply, the employee shall be eligible for those benefits that would apply if this section had not been enacted.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 561, Sec. 175. (AB 1516) Effective January 1, 2018.)