Nolan

Plaintiff Steven W. Nolan was a police officer for the City of Anaheim (Anaheim); his last assignment was as a patrol officer. Pursuant to Government Code section 21156, 1 Mr. Nolan has applied for permanent disability retirement benefits on the ground that threats and harassment by other Anaheim officers have rendered him “incapacitated physically or mentally for the performance of his . . . duties in the state service.” (Italics added.) The question presented is what, for the purposes of section 21156, is meant by “state service”?

“State service,” Mr. Nolan contends, refers to the applicant’s last employer. Therefore, Mr. Nolan argues, in order to qualify for disability retirement, he need only show he is incapable of continuing to perform his duties as a patrol officer for Anaheim. We disagree. We conclude that in order to qualify for disability retirement under section 21156, Mr. Nolan will have to show not only that he is incapacitated from performing his usual duties for Anaheim, but also that he is incapacitated from performing the usual duties of a patrol officer for other California law enforcement agencies. Assuming Mr. Nolan makes such a prima facie showing,…

I agree with the majority opinion insofar as it rejects Mr. Nolan’s argument that he can claim disability retirement benefits on the sole basis that he has become physically or psychologically incapacitated to work as a police officer for the City of Anaheim. On the contrary, he must show that his job-related physical or psychological condition prevents him from performing the usual and customary duties of a police officer anywhere in the state. And once he does present such evidence, the city must have an opportunity to rebut it.

But that is the end of the matter. If Mr. Nolan has a general job-related incapacity for police officer duties, he is entitled to a pension. Otherwise, he is not. The majority opinion thus errs in its holding that Mr. Nolan may retire for disability, even if he has no general incapacity, unless the city can show “that similar positions with other California law enforcement agencies are available to him.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 344, fn. omitted, italics added.)

The majority’s effort not to penalize Mr. Nolan for his “whistleblowing” activities is understandable, but it is an example of good intentions gone awry. The statutory scheme specifies that an…

California’s Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) manages the pension benefits provided to more than 1.2 million public employees, retirees, and their families under the Public Employee Retirement Law (PERL). (Gov. Code, § 20000 et seq.) 1 Steven W. Nolan, a police officer for the City of Anaheim, whose employees are members of PERS, applied for a disability retirement based on a mental disability—his depression and anxiety stemming from fear that he would be killed or injured for lack of backup by fellow officers were he to return to duty in the Anaheim Police Department. The majority holds that to qualify for disability retirement Nolan must show not only that he is incapacitated to perform his usual duties for the Anaheim Police Department, but also that his incapacity precludes him “from performing the usual duties of a patrol officer for other California law enforcement agencies.” (Maj. opn., ante, at p. 344.) That holding subverts the clear intent of the Legislature, overrules some 30 years of PERS administrative practice and precedent, as well as court decisional law, and sketches a new and unworkable test of disability. Therefore, I cannot and do not join the…

Plaintiff Steven W. Nolan was a police officer for the City of Anaheim (Anaheim); his last assignment was as a patrol officer. Pursuant to Government Code section 21156, [1] Mr. Nolan has applied for permanent disability retirement benefits on the ground that threats and harassment by other Anaheim officers have rendered him "incapacitated physically or mentally for the performance of his . . . duties in the state service. " (Italics added.) The question presented is what, for the purposes of section 21156, is meant by "state service"?

"State service," Mr. Nolan contends, refers to the applicant's last employer. Therefore, Mr. Nolan argues, in order to qualify for disability retirement, he need only show he is incapable of continuing to perform his duties as a patrol officer for Anaheim. We disagree. We conclude that in order to qualify for disability retirement under section 21156, Mr. Nolan will have to show not only that he is incapacitated from performing his usual duties for Anaheim, but also that he is incapacitated from performing the usual duties of a patrol officer for other California law enforcement agencies. Assuming Mr. Nolan makes such a prima facie…