BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to disability of state patrol officers; and amending RCW 43.43.040.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 43.43.040 and 1987 c 185 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The chief of the Washington state patrol shall relieve from active duty Washington state patrol officers who, while in the performance of their official duties, or while on standby or available for duty, have been or hereafter may be injured or incapacitated to such an extent as to be mentally or physically incapable of active service: PROVIDED, That:

(a) Any officer disabled while performing line duty who is found by the chief to be physically incapacitated shall be placed on disability leave for a period not to exceed six months from the date of injury or the date incapacitated. During this period, the officer shall be entitled to all pay, benefits, insurance, leave, and retirement contributions awarded to an officer on active status, less any compensation received through the department of labor and industries. No such disability leave shall be approved until an officer has been unavailable for duty for more than five consecutive work days. Prior to the end of the six-month period, the chief shall either place the officer on disability status or return the officer to active status.

For the purposes of this section, "line duty" is active service which encompasses the traffic law enforcement duties and/or other law enforcement responsibilities of the state patrol. These activities encompass all enforcement practices of the laws, accident and criminal investigations, or actions requiring physical exertion or exposure to hazardous elements.

The chief shall define by rule the situations where a disability has occurred during line duty;

(b) Benefits under this section for a disability that is incurred while in other employment will be reduced by any amount the officer receives or is entitled to receive from workers' compensation, social security, group insurance, other pension plan, or any other similar source provided by another employer on account of the same disability;

(c) An officer injured while engaged in wilfully tortious or criminal conduct shall not be entitled to disability benefits under this section; and

(d) Should a disability beneficiary whose disability was not incurred in line of duty, prior to attaining age fifty, engage in a gainful occupation, the chief shall reduce the amount of his retirement allowance to an amount which when added to the compensation earned by him in such occupation shall not exceed the basic salary currently being paid for the rank the retired officer held at the time he was disabled. All such disability beneficiaries under age fifty shall file with the chief every six months a signed and sworn statement of earnings and any person who shall knowingly swear falsely on such statement shall be subject to prosecution for perjury. Should the earning capacity of such beneficiary be further altered, the chief may further alter his disability retirement allowance as indicated above. The failure of any officer to file the required statement of earnings shall be cause for cancellation of retirement benefits.

(2) Officers on disability status shall receive one-half of their compensation at the existing wage, during the time the disability continues in effect, less any compensation received through the department of labor and industries. ((~~They~~)) The chief of the state patrol shall establish rules requiring officers on disability status to submit periodic reports on their disability. Officers on disability status shall be subject to mental or physical examination at any state institution or otherwise under the direction of the chief of the state patrol at any time during such relief from duty to ascertain whether or not they are able to resume active duty. If the mental or physical examination given under the direction of the chief shows the individual capable of returning to active duty, the individual shall be required to return to a position offered by the chief that is equivalent in rank to their previous active duty rank and in the same geographical location where they left active duty or in the location where they currently reside. A refusal to accept such a position shall result in a termination of the disability benefits. The chief of the state patrol shall establish rules under this section pertaining to return to work provisions.

(3) If an officer is determined to be disabled under this section, the action shall be conclusive and effective to bar any subsequent application or claim relative to the disability by the officer or beneficiary of the officer that would otherwise exist had such officer not elected to apply for a disability. The chief may require the spouse of the officer to consent in writing as a prerequisite to the receipt of disability status.

(4) If an injury results to an officer from the deliberate intention of the state patrol to produce the injury, the officer or beneficiary of the officer may have cause of action against the state patrol for damages in excess of disability benefits paid or payable under this section.