COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence


SHERIFF’S OFFICE

 

DATE:

October 11, 2006

BOARD MEETING DATE:

October 24, 2006

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

None

VOTE REQUIRED:

Majority


TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Don Horsley, Sheriff
Donna Vaillancourt, Director, Human Resources Department

SUBJECT:

Deeming Volunteer Unsalaried Sheriff’s Reserve Pilots County Employees for the Sole Purpose of Receiving Workers’ Compensation Benefits

 

RECOMMENDATION:

Adopt a Resolution deeming volunteer unsalaried Sheriff’s Reserve Pilots County employees for the sole purpose of receiving workers’ compensation benefits.

 

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: Responsive, effective and collaborative government.

Goal 20: Government decisions are based on careful consideration of future impact rather than temporary relief or immediate gain.

This Resolution provides a system for addressing the risk inherent in the important public safety activities performed by the volunteer members of the Sheriff’s Air Squadron.

 

PERFORMANCE MEASURES:

 

Measure

FY 2005-06
Actual

FY 2006-07
Projected

Percentage of unsalaried pilots who are volunteer members of the Sheriff’s Air Squadron who have an orderly and predictable system of managing risk inherent in their volunteer activities

0

100

 

BACKGROUND:

The Sheriff’s Air Squadron is a group of approximately 65 licensed pilots who are volunteer, unsalaried members of the Sheriff’s reserve who perform important law enforcement related activities, including searching, transportation, photography, and maintenance on the Sheriff’s air plane. Because of the nature of the activities performed by the Sheriff’s Air Squadron, its members are not covered by the $25,000 medical benefit insurance policy that covers other county volunteers. Division 4 of the California Labor Code provides a system of workers’ compensation insurance and benefits for employees, Labor Code §3364, which is part of Division 4, provides that a volunteer, unsalaried member of a Sheriff's reserve in any county who is not deemed an employee of the county under §3362.5, shall, upon the adoption of a resolution of the board of supervisors declaring that such a member is deemed an employee of the county for the purposes of this division, shall be entitled to the workers' compensation benefits provided by Division 4 for any injury sustained by him or her while engaged in the performance of any active law enforcement service under the direction and control of the Sheriff.

 

DISCUSSION:

The members of the Sheriff’s Air Squadron are not deemed employees of the county under Labor Code § 3362.5 in that they are not “assigned specific police functions” by the Sheriff. They currently have no coverage for injuries incurred in connection with their volunteer activities.

It is in the best interest of the County for the members of the Sheriff’s Air Squadron to be deemed employees of the county for the sole purposes of affording workers compensation coverage for any injury sustained by a member of the Squadron while engaged in the performance of any active law enforcement service under the direction and control of the Sheriff. Designation of the volunteer pilots as employees for the sole purpose of placing them in our workers’ compensation program is a win-win. The County would benefit in that such action would limit the monetary damages to be paid out in event of accident, and the pilots would benefit in that they would have a formal plan of protection in lieu of the uncertainties of having to initiate civil litigation.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The recommended action would provide a greater degree of certainty as to the County's exposure to risk in the event that a member of the Sheriff's Air Squadron is involved in an accident while on duty. Without this resolution, any damages would be compensated by a civil lawsuit, and the outcome would be subject to greater uncertainty than worker's compensation. Any losses would be covered by the County’s Workers’ Comp Trust Fund and charged back to the department.

   

cc

Janine Keller, Risk Manager