Employment: workers' compensation.

Existing law establishes a workers' compensation system to compensate employees for injuries sustained arising out of and in the course of their employment. Existing law designates illnesses and conditions that constitute a compensable injury for various employees, such as members of the Department of the California Highway Patrol, firefighters, and certain peace officers. These injuries include, but are not limited to, hernia, pneumonia, heart trouble, cancer, meningitis, and exposure to biochemical substances, when the illness or condition develops or manifests itself during a period when the officer or employee is in service of the employer, as specified. This bill would expand the coverage of the above provisions relating to compensable injuries to include all persons defined as peace officers under certain provisions of law, except as specified. Existing law provides that, in the case of certain officers and employees of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and each security officer employed at the Atascadero State Hospital, the term "injury" includes heart trouble that develops or manifests itself during a period while the officer or employee is in the service of the department or hospital, and establishes a disputable presumption that heart trouble that so develops or manifests itself arose out of and in the course of the employment. This bill would expand the coverage of this provision to include all peace officers employed by the State Department of State Hospitals.