Section 143.073 of the Texas Local Government Code (TLGC) permits a firefighter or police officer a leave-of-absence for an illness or injury related to the person's line of duty with full pay for a period up to one year if necessary. Section 143.073 also allows an injured police officer or firefighter to request from the City Council an extension of the injury leave-of-absence for full or reduced pay upon the expiration of the one year period.
On March 3, 2015, City Council adopted Resolution No. 4420-03-2015 (City Resolution) which states in pertinent part:
"On a going-forward basis, in lieu of individual extension requests that can be granted by the City Council under Section 143.073 of the TLGC, fire fighters and police officers with medically-documented job-related illnesses or injuries will be granted up to two years of occupational leave per each job-related illness or injury (commensurate with the injury or illness and as medically necessary and related to the compensable illness or injury) which may be used intermittently.
The only exception to the two-year limitation shall be in situations where, at the time the two-year period ends, the firefighter or police officer has not yet reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) as provided for under Section 408.104 of the Texas Labor Code which is currently limited to spinal surgery. In these instances, occupational leave will be available until MMI is reached. Any delays in treatment were due to Officer Reyes Lamas' medical provider; no delays in treatment were due to the City or the City's third-party claims administrator.
Police Officer Jose Jesus Reyes Lamas was injured in the line of duty on November 11, 2016, and he began losing intermittent time on November 12, 2016. Officer Reyes Lamas subsequently reached maximum medical improvement on November 17, 2018. Officer Reyes Lamas is currently unable to return to work in any capacity. Officer Reyes Lamas' two-year occupational leave period expired April 28, 2019 . Officer Reyes Lamas is still under a physician's care, being approved for a Stellate Ganglion Nerve Block on April 23, 2019 and took place on June 6, 2019.
Pursuant to the City Council Resolution, Officer Reyes Lamas would be ineligible for an extension of Occupational Injury Leave having reached MMI on November 17, 2018. Risk Management recommends City Council deny the request for an extension of Occupational Leave in the amount of $55,699.80 for the period of April 29, 2019 through October 29, 2019. Risk Management believes that no extenuating circumstances exist for Council to approve this request. If this request is denied, Officer Reyes Lamas will be able to maintain full pay by use of accumulated leave benefits. As of June 7, 2019, Officer Reyes Lamas had the following paid leave available: 144 hours of holiday accrual, 198.28 hours of vacation, 508.50 hours of sick leave, 31.75 hours of non-exempt comp time, and 8.00 hours of personal holiday, for a total of 890.53 hours of available leave.
This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity.
A Form 1295 is not required for this contract because: This M&C does not request approval of a contract with a business entity. |
