Employee Not Guaranteed No Loss Of Salary After Returning To Work.

When injured on the job, a deputy sheriff earned a five percent (5%) differential for working the night shift. When he returned to work, he worked at full duty for a few months and was then placed on modified duty by a physician.  He was assigned to the day shift and received no pay differential. Labor Code section 4850 provides that whenever a sheriff’s deputy “a leave of absence while so disabled without loss of salary in lieu of temporary disability benefits.” In this case, the deputy sheriff contended that section applies to guarantee no loss of salary to an employee who has returned to work, albeit on modified duty.  The appellate court disagreed with the deputy sheriff:  “A ‘leave of absence’ is a foundational prerequisite to the application of section 4850’s no loss of salary guarantee, and a person who has returned to work, even on modified duty, is not on a leave of absence.”  (County of Nevada v. Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board  (Cal. App. Third Dist.; January 29, 2014) 223 Cal.App.4th 579, [167 Cal.Rptr.3d 455].