Labor Code 4850: Full Salary for Injured Police and Firefighters

Labor Code section 4850 gives many injured California police officers, firefighters, sheriff’s deputies and other local public safety employees their full salary, instead of regular temporary disability payments, for up to one year while they are temporarily disabled by a work injury. It is one of the most valuable benefits in California workers’ comp, and it is often misunderstood.

The difference is significant. Regular temporary disability pays about two-thirds of your average weekly wage, subject to a state maximum. For an officer earning $9,000 a month, two-thirds works out to about $6,000 a month. Under 4850, that officer keeps the full $9,000. Over a year of disability, that gap can reach $36,000.

This guide explains who is covered, how 4850 pay works with temporary disability, how it is usually taxed, the special presumptions that make many public safety injuries easier to prove, and what to do to protect your benefits.

What Labor Code 4850 provides

Under Labor Code section 4850, a covered employee who is disabled by an injury or illness arising out of and in the course of their duties is entitled to a leave of absence without loss of salary, in lieu of temporary disability payments, for the period of the disability, but not more than one year, or until the employee is retired on a disability pension if that happens first.

In plain terms: while your treating doctor says you cannot do your job because of the work injury, your agency keeps paying your regular salary for up to a year. You do not need to use sick leave or vacation to receive it. The benefit applies regardless of how long you have worked for the agency.

4850 pay is a workers’ comp benefit, so the normal workers’ comp rules still apply. Your injury must be work-related, you need medical evidence of temporary disability, and disputes are decided by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.

By the numbersOne year

Who is covered

Coverage is defined by a specific list in the statute. It includes, among others:

• City police officers
• City, county and district firefighters
• Sheriffs and officers or employees of a sheriff’s office
• District attorney inspectors, investigators and detectives
• County probation officers, group counselors and juvenile services officers, and officers or employees of a probation office
• Certain airport law enforcement officers and harbor or port police
• Los Angeles Unified School District police officers
• Certain full-time lifeguards and other peace officers in specified counties

Several categories are limited to regular, full-time employees, and some apply only in particular counties or cities. Volunteer and seasonal positions are often excluded. If your title is not obviously on the list, have an attorney compare your position against the statute. Certain state public safety employees, such as California Highway Patrol officers, receive similar full-salary benefits under different sections (Labor Code sections 4800 and 4800.5).

Watch: injured at work in California

Our attorneys explain what your employer must do after a work injury, and what to do in the first 24 hours to protect your claim.

How 4850 pay works with temporary disability

Question	4850 pay	Regular temporary disability
How much?	Full salary	About two-thirds of average weekly wage, up to a state maximum
Who pays?	Your agency, through payroll	The employer or its insurer or claims administrator
How long?	Up to one year, or until disability retirement	Generally up to 104 weeks within five years of the injury, with exceptions
Taxed?	Generally not subject to income tax (see below)	Not subject to income tax
Legal source	Labor Code 4850	Labor Code 4653, 4656

When the one year of 4850 pay runs out and you are still temporarily disabled, you may move to regular temporary disability benefits, subject to the usual limits. How 4850 time interacts with those limits can be technical, so ask your attorney to calculate your remaining entitlement before the year ends.

💡 Example: Officer Mike earns $9,000 a month, or $108,000 a year. His average weekly wage is about $2,077 ($108,000 divided by 52). Regular temporary disability would pay two-thirds of that, about $1,385 a week, which is roughly $6,000 a month. Under Labor Code 4850, he instead keeps his full $9,000 monthly salary while he is temporarily disabled, up to one year: about $3,000 more each month.

Taxes and 4850 pay

Because 4850 pay is paid in lieu of workers’ compensation temporary disability, it is generally treated as a workers’ comp benefit that is not subject to federal or California income tax. In practice, agencies do not always handle this correctly. Some continue withholding income tax or report the pay as ordinary wages.

Tax treatment can depend on how your agency processes the payments and on your individual circumstances, so confirm it with a tax professional and review your pay stubs during the 4850 period. If income tax was withheld from 4850 pay, ask your agency’s payroll department and your tax advisor whether a correction is available. Retirement system contributions and service credit during 4850 leave follow their own rules; check with your retirement system.

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Presumptions that help public safety employees prove their claims

California recognizes that public safety work causes certain conditions. For covered employees, Labor Code sections 3212 and following create presumptions that certain conditions are work-related, which shifts the burden to the employer to disprove it. Key presumptions include:

• Heart trouble, hernia and pneumonia for many firefighters and peace officers (Labor Code 3212, 3212.5)
• Cancer for firefighters and certain peace officers exposed to known carcinogens (Labor Code 3212.1)
• Tuberculosis (Labor Code 3212.6), blood-borne infectious diseases and MRSA (Labor Code 3212.8), and meningitis (Labor Code 3212.9)
• Post-traumatic stress for certain firefighters and peace officers (Labor Code 3212.15)
• Low back injuries for peace officers required to wear a duty belt (Labor Code 3213.2)

Each presumption has its own conditions, such as minimum years of service, and many extend for a period after you leave the job. Most are rebuttable, but the employer has to produce evidence to overcome them. Certain presumption injuries are also protected from apportionment, which can increase your permanent disability award; see what a permanent disability rating is worth.

By the numbersTwo-thirds

Common disputes and employer tactics

• Disputing that the injury is work-related, particularly for cumulative trauma, stress or cardiac claims. Presumptions often answer this.
• Arguing you are able to return to modified duty. Many agencies have light-duty assignments. If your doctor releases you to modified work within your restrictions and the agency offers it, 4850 pay can stop.
• Paying regular temporary disability instead of 4850. Some claims administrators default to TD rates. Check your pay.
• Charging sick leave or vacation for days that should be 4850 time.
• Pushing toward disability retirement, which can end 4850 pay earlier. Retirement decisions should be made with your attorney and your retirement system, not on the agency’s timeline.

If benefits are delayed or denied, the steps in our guide to a denied workers’ comp claim apply to public safety employees too.

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Deadlines

Report your injury to your agency promptly, and in all cases within 30 days (Labor Code section 5400). Your agency should provide a DWC-1 claim form within one working day of learning of the injury. In most cases you have one year from the date of injury to file an Application for Adjudication of Claim with the WCAB (Labor Code section 5405). For occupational diseases and cumulative trauma, the deadline generally runs from when you knew, or should have known, that the condition was work-related.

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What to do, step by step

1. Report the injury in writing to your supervisor and request a claim form.
2. See a doctor and make sure your work status (off work or restrictions) is documented after every visit.
3. Check your paycheck during the leave: full salary, no sick leave or vacation charged, and confirm how taxes are handled.
4. Track the one-year clock from your first day of 4850 leave.
5. Document exposures: incidents, calls, hazardous materials and traumatic events, which can matter for presumption claims.
6. Talk to an attorney before accepting modified duty that exceeds your restrictions, applying for disability retirement, or signing any settlement.

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4850 pay is only the first part of your claim

Full salary during recovery is important, but it is temporary. For many public safety employees, the larger long-term questions come later:

• Permanent disability. When your condition stabilizes, a doctor rates any lasting impairment. That rating, and how presumptions and apportionment apply, largely determines your permanent disability award.
• Future medical care. Many public safety injuries, especially cardiac, orthopedic and psychiatric claims, need care for years. Whether to keep lifetime medical open is a central settlement decision.
• Industrial disability retirement. Your retirement system (for example, CalPERS or a county retirement system) makes its own decision about disability retirement. That process is separate from the workers’ comp case, but the medical evidence often overlaps, and timing affects your 4850 pay.

Disputed issues are ultimately decided at the WCAB; our guide to workers’ comp hearings, MSC and trial explains that process. Before you resolve the case, read should you accept a workers’ comp settlement offer.

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Frequently asked questions

Can my agency make me use sick leave instead of 4850 pay?

Generally, no. 4850 pay is a leave of absence without loss of salary in lieu of temporary disability, so covered employees should not have to use their own leave banks for an accepted 4850 period.

What happens after one year?

If you are still temporarily disabled, you may receive regular temporary disability payments at the workers’ comp rate, subject to the usual limits, until you are permanent and stationary or return to work.

Does a second injury restart 4850 pay?

A separate injury can generally support its own period of 4850 benefits, but overlapping injuries can be complicated. Have an attorney review the dates and medical reports.

Is 4850 pay taxable?

It is generally treated as non-taxable, like other workers’ comp disability benefits. Because agencies sometimes withhold taxes anyway, confirm with a tax professional.

Are volunteer firefighters covered?

Generally not by 4850 itself, which covers listed paid positions. Volunteer firefighters may still have workers’ comp rights under other provisions.

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