The decision to remove an employee because of disability is primarily up to the employer. The employer should file for disability retirement rather than sending an employee home or refusing to allow them to return to work. Usually, the employer refuses or fails to initiate the application process. Therefore, when an employee has to be removed from their position because of work restrictions or by an offer of vocational rehabilitation, an immediate decision whether to file for disability retirement should be made.

An employee should apply for disability retirement when the treating doctor(s) has imposed permanent work restrictions which the employer says cannot be accommodated. It is important that the employee try to obtain the employers written decision as to whether the employee will be returned to his/her former job before applying. Even then, the employee should request that the employer also file an application for disability retirement.

Your retirement may be the largest asset you have. Disability pensions are usually paid to you for the rest of your life on a monthly basis, and may also include additional benefits such as payment to survivors, annual cost of living increases, rights to medical benefits and tax free status. It is not unusual for disability retirement benefits to range in value over an expected lifetime from hundreds of thousands to over a million dollars. If you would not represent yourself in the workers’ compensation application, why would you risk losing a much greater asset by failing to obtain legal assistance? The pension systems have claims adjusters, attorneys and doctors to assist in denying DP claims. Most employees are well advised to get  “someone in their corner.”

Attorney fees are not paid by the pension systems. Fees are negotiated on a case by case basis. Such fees can be based on an hourly basis, a flat fee basis, a contingent basis or a combination of these arrangements. We try to handle most cases on a contingency basis with a fixed upper limit. The actual fee charged depends on the circumstances of each case and is always stated in a written agreement signed by the client and the firm before the case is accepted.

There are many different procedures being used by the various pension systems throughout California. From the time the application is filed, it can take from 1 – 2 years before the pension system decides whether to accept or deny the application.

There are circumstances in which a modified job offer may be inappropriate. For example, if the treating physician has imposed work restrictions which are incompatible with the job offered, then the employee is placed in an untenable situation. In such a case, it is imperative that a clear and adequate record be made on the employees’ behalf. One of the typical defenses against granting a disability retirement is that the employee could have worked in some other position.

Yes, but it is risky if not handled properly. It is essential that the employer be requested to assist the applicant while the process of reviewing the application is underway. If the employer refuses, that refusal must be recorded and any outside employment should be disclosed to the employer. This is particularly true of police personnel who often have the requirement to obtain approval for any “outside” employment from their Department.

There are several options. First, the applicant may often request to be reinstated to their prior position. If the employer removed them, the applicant may even be entitled to back pay and benefits. Second, the applicant can request a formal administrative hearing. This is usually heard by a hearing officer hired by the pension system or by an administrative law judge in the case of a PERS applicant.

The various pension systems do take differing amounts of time. However, once approval has been given, the disability pension is usually paid within thirty to sixty days and then monthly thereafter.