Tapia

The County of San Bernardino (the county) and Richard Williams, Sheriff of the county (appellants), have appealed from a judgment granting the petition for writ of mandate (Code Civ. Proc., § 1085) of Deputy Sheriff Jeanette Tapia (Tapia). The judgment ordered the county to pay Tapia her salary and benefits for the period she was away from work because of work-related injuries. Appellants contend that: (1) Government Code section 31725, which Tapia relied on in her petition, does not authorize the payment of retroactive salary, and (2) Tapia failed to comply with the claim presentation requirements of section 900 et seq. (the claim presentation requirements, post). For the reasons stated below, we agree with appellants that Tapia failed to comply with the claim presentation requirements. Accordingly, we shall reverse the judgment and direct the trial court to dismiss Tapia’s petition.

Factual and Procedural Background

Tapia began to work for the county in 1979. On November 30, 1987, while she was working as a deputy sheriff at the county jail, she injured her neck and back as a result of an “altercation” with a female inmate. Thereafter, Tapia apparently requested and…