Washington Administrative Code › Title 220 - Fish and Wildlife, Department of › DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION › Chapter 220-101 - Department purpose-Fish and wildlife commission-Operations › Section 220-101-050 - Fish and wildlife enforcement officer relief from active duty procedure

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
(1) This section
				governs the actions required for granting relief from active duty and payment
				of relief from active duty benefits under
				RCW
				77.12.264. Compliance with the procedural
				steps of this section is mandatory, and failure to comply with these procedures
				will result in a denial of benefits if payment has not begun, or a termination
				of payments if payments have begun.
(2) A request for relief from active duty
				must be filed in writing with the director, and may be filed by either the
				officer or the officer's representative. For purposes of this section, the
				officer is the "claimant."
(3) Upon
				receipt of the relief from active duty request, the director's office will
				notify the department's personnel office (the personnel office). The personnel
				office will review the claimant's personnel file to ascertain employment
				status. The personnel office will determine if a labor and industries on duty
				injury claim was filed and the status of that claim. If a claim was filed but
				was disallowed, the department will notify the claimant that the department
				will not further process a request for relief from active duty until all appeal
				efforts on the labor and industries on duty injury claim are
				completed.
(4) The personnel office
				will respond to the claimant's request for relief from active duty and provide
				an information request and medical release form to be completed by the claimant
				and returned to the personnel office. The claimant is required to provide all
				information and documentation requested by the department specific to the
				claim. If any requested information is missing, the department will send a
				second request to the claimant.
(5)
				Upon receipt of the medical release form and required documentation, the
				department's labor and industries claims manager, the department's reasonable
				accommodation program manager, and the senior human resources consultant
				assigned to the enforcement program will review the information provided by the
				claimant. From that review, the personnel manager, or designee, will identify
				one or more licensed medical specialist(s) as appropriate to the independent
				medical examination. The medical specialist will provide to the personnel
				manager a current medical analysis with careful consideration of the essential
				mental, physical and sensory functions of a fish and wildlife officer. The
				department will pay for the independent medical examination, and will give due
				consideration for the location of the claimant's current residence. If the
				claimant fails to attend any scheduled medical examination or fails to comply
				with department directions, the request for relief from active duty may be
				denied.
(6) Within sixty days after
				the receipt of the results of the independent medical examination, the
				department will arrange for a panel to review the request for relief from
				active duty. This panel may consist of one or more licensed, qualified medical
				professionals, representatives of the department of labor and industries or the
				department of retirement systems, the department's personnel manager or
				designee, the assistant director for the enforcement program or designee and,
				at the claimant's expense, a licensed, qualified medical professional of the
				claimant's choosing. The department will bear the cost of convening this panel
				with the exception of any costs associated with the medical professional chosen
				by the claimant. The panel will provide a written recommendation to the
				director of the department. The director will make a final decision to either
				grant or not grant relief from active duty. The director's written decision
				will be provided to the claimant.
(7) If relief from active duty is granted,
				the department may require periodic reviews of the claimant's medical
				condition. Such review may include an independent medical examination. Notice
				of a scheduled examination will be provided via certified mail to the claimant
				at least thirty days prior to the scheduled exam. It is the claimant's
				responsibility to provide the department with the claimant's current address at
				all times that relief from active duty benefits are being paid. If the
				certified letter is returned, the claimant fails to attend any scheduled
				medical examination, or the claimant fails at any point to comply with
				department directions, the relief from active duty benefits may be
				discontinued. If a medical examination shows that the claimant is able to
				perform the essential functions of a fish and wildlife officer position, the
				claimant will be returned to active service and the relief from active duty
				benefits will be discontinued.
(8)
				If the relief from active duty request is denied or the benefits are
				discontinued for any reason, the claimant may file a written appeal with the
				director. An appeal must include a copy of any written communication from the
				department regarding the discontinuance, and must describe in detail the reason
				the relief from active duty benefits should again be provided. In making a
				decision on whether to renew payment of relief from active duty benefits, the
				director may review any information related to the on duty injury claim and may
				require an independent medical examination. The director's decision is
				final.
Statutory Authority:
					 RCW
					 77.12.047. 04-01-056 (Order 03-302), §
											220-20-110, filed 12/11/03,
					 effective 1/11/04.