§ 16.85. POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS INCAPACITATED WITH HEART TROUBLE OR PNEUMONIA - WHEN PRESUMED CONTRACTED IN COURSE OF EMPLOYMENT.

1 Whenever any member of the Police Department or Fire Department shall become incapacitated for the performance of the member’s duty on account of heart trouble or pneumonia, which develops or manifests itself while such member is in the service of the member’s department, such heart trouble and such pneumonia shall be presumed to arise out of and in the course of the member’s employment..1 This presumption is disputable and may be controverted by other evidence, but unless so controverted, the hearing officer assigned to hear the application under Charter Section 12.102 and Charter Section A8.518 is bound to find in accordance with it.

(b) Such heart trouble or pneumonia so developing or manifesting itself as described in subsection (a) shall in no case be attributed to any disease existing prior to such development or manifestation.

(c) Subsections (a) and (b) apply only to:

(1) Sworn members of the Fire Department or Police Department who have served a total of five years or more in the Fire Department or Police Department. For purposes of determining whether the member has five or more years of service, time served in another fire or police department in the State of California shall be combined with service in the Fire Department or Police Department, provided that the member (A) was entitled to the same presumption of subsection (a) and prohibition against attribution of subsection (b) in the member’s prior employment and (B) became a member of the Fire Department of1 Police Department within six months after separating from the prior employment.

(2) Applications for industrial disability retirement or death as a result of duty benefits under the San Francisco City and County Employees’ Retirement System (“Retirement System”).

(3) Applications for benefits in connection with heart trouble or pneumonia injuries or deaths filed on or after January 1, 2015, provided that the prohibition against attribution of subsection (b) shall not apply to an application if, as of the effective date of the amendment to this Section 16.85 in Board of Supervisors File No. 190680, the hearing officer assigned to hear the application under Charter Section 12.102 and Charter Section A8.518 either (A) has rendered an initial decision on the application and the member did not request rehearing within the time specified under the Charter, or (B) has rendered an initial decision and the member timely requested rehearing under the Charter, and the hearing officer has issued a decision on rehearing.

(d) Neither subsection (a) nor subsection (b) shall apply to any of the following:

(1) incapacitation on account of heart trouble if there was any evidence of heart trouble identified in the physical examination of the member conducted as part of the member’s initial hire in the Fire Department or Police Department, as applicable, and

(2) incapacitation on account of pneumonia if there was any evidence of pneumonia identified in the physical examination of the member conducted as part of the member’s initial hire in the Fire Department or Police Department, as applicable.

(e) The Retirement System shall use the member’s eligible prior safety service in another fire or police department under subsection (c)(1) to measure the date upon which the member would be qualified for service retirement.

(Ord. No. 559(1939), Sec. 1; amended by Ord. , File No. 190680, App. 10/4/2019, Eff. 11/4/2019)

CODIFICATION NOTE

1. So in Ord. .