SR-100-002 (23)
CMO:RM
Council Meeting: July 27, 2004 Santa Monica, CA
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: City Staff
SUBJECT: Opposition to AB 3051 (Nation and Vargas), which Seeks State
Legislative Authority to Allow Increase of Safety Employees’ Death
Benefits
Introduction
This report recommends that the City Council oppose AB 3051 (Nation/Vargas), which
would extend the statute of limitations for filing a claim for death benefits by the
dependent survivors of local firefighters who succumb to illnesses that are
presumptively considered job related. Opposition is recommended to limit the City’s
liability, which would be significant if this bill is passed.
Background
The City of Santa Monica has a record of support for labor issues and offers generous
and responsible benefits to city workers. There would be no reduction of benefits if AB
3051 were defeated. It is well known that rising costs of workers’ compensation have
burdened local government budgets and spurred reform legislation with the passage of
SB 899 in April 2004. This bill provides an extension of the period of exposure for
liability of death benefits from a certain period (240 weeks from the date of injury or last
provision of benefits, as allowed by current law) to an unknown period relative to the
injury (one year after the death occurs, more than one year after the date of injury).
This could result in notice of claim against the City for job related death benefits 10, 20
or more years after separation from employment or last date of exposure. The
extension of the time to file a claim for this benefit will negatively impact local resources.
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The proponents of this bill state in their argument that if a firefighter dies as a result of
an occupational illness, other than asbestosis, more than five years after he or she is
diagnosed with the fatal disease, his or her dependents are precluded from receiving
death benefits. No other reasons are cited for the extension of statute of limitations for
the filing of a claim.
Opposition is recommended on this bill as it would require public agencies to pay
workers’ compensation death benefits to a broad array of former firefighters based on
presumptions of injury that are impossible to verify, years after employment has ended
and the nexus between the disease causing death and employment is likely tenuous.
Such an exposure for liability would be impossible to anticipate and prepare for fiscally.
By eliminating the current statute of limitations for filing of a claim for death benefits,
there is no realistic opportunity to investigate its causation due to the passage of time.
Further, two diseases are already provided this exemption: AIDS and AIDS related
diseases and asbestosis. These are two diseases with acknowledged extended latency
period of many years. Current law provides the payment of up to $160,000 to multiple
dependents if the claim is filed timely and the condition causing the death is found job
related.
Budget and Fiscal Impact
The passage of this bill will have potential significant impact on the City’s budget. An
example would be if a firefighter were to succumb to pneumonia or heart disease (both
presumptively assumed to be compensable) 20 years after retiring from the City, his or
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her surviving dependents could claim death benefits at the rate in effect at the time of
death. The current death benefit for a single total dependent is $125,000 or $160,000
for 3 or more dependents. These benefits will increase for 3 or more dependents to
$320,000 in 2006. Additional increases will likely occur with future legislative changes.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the City Council oppose AB 3051 (Nation/Vargas).
Prepared by: Tom Phillips, Risk Manager
Barbara Trujillo, Workers’ Compensation Administrator
Jim Hone, Fire Chief
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