Chapter 3 – Personnel, Training, and Employee Relations

31090.4 Definitions

• Active Employee

  • An employee of the department who is not retired or otherwise transferred or separated from the department employment.

• Department Representative (Representative)

  • The employee designated by the hiring authority to represent the department to the deceased employee’s family. The Representative will usually be an administrator from the Division of Adult Institutions (DAIDivision of Adult Institutions (formerly Institutions Division)), Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPODivision of Adult Parole Operations (formerly P&CSD)), or any Office, Program, Board, DAIDivision of Adult Institutions (formerly Institutions Division), or DAPODivision of Adult Parole Operations (formerly P&CSD) manager or supervisor who will exemplify the department’s compassion, sympathy and concern for the survivor’s situation and who is familiar with the contents of this section.

• Family/Legal Designee

  • Solely for the purpose of this section, the spouse and other immediate family members who are beneficiaries of the deceased employee. (Including legal designee[s].)

• First Person

  • Any department employee who first becomes aware of an incident.

• Hiring Authority

  • The Warden, Director, Deputy Director, Assistant Deputy Director, or Associate Director, etc., for whom an employee works.

• In-The-Line-Of-Duty Death

  • An employee (peace officer or non-custody staff) carrying out their duties dies as a result of an unlawful act of an incarcerated person or supervised person or responding to an incarcerated person or supervised person incident.

• Off-Duty Death

  • An employee who dies while not on duty (peace officer or non-custody staff). This includes when an off-duty employee is on the department grounds or is traveling on official state business. An employee who dies while enroute to or from work is an off-duty death.(2) An exception is when an off-duty peace officer dies while acting in an official law enforcement capacity (as determined by the department, after a thorough evaluation of the facts surrounding the death).(3) When there is a question whether an employee’s death is in-the-line-of-duty or on-duty, the Secretary will make the final determination.

• On-Duty Death

  • When an employee (peace officer or non-custody staff) dies while at work, but not as a result of an unlawful act of an incarcerated person or supervised person or responding to an incident. Typically, these deaths would be of an accidental nature, health-related (the result of an illness or other health condition) or result from natural causes.

• Point of Contact (POCParole Outpatient Clinics) (for Death Notification Purposes)

  • DAIDivision of Adult Institutions (formerly Institutions Division): Notify the Watch Commander. The Watch Commander will notify the Institution Personnel Officer (IPOInstitutional Personnel Officer) to submit the formal notification to the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation HRHuman Resources Assistant Deputy Director (ADD) and the deceased employee’s immediate supervisor or manager if not already notified. (2) DAPODivision of Adult Parole Operations (formerly P&CSD): Notify the ADD for Northern and Southern Region or Staff Services Manager III for Headquarters (HQ). (3) CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation HQ: Notify the employee’s supervisor or manager. (4) CCHCS HQ: Notify the employee’s supervisor or manager.

• Special Circumstances

  • Those circumstances surrounding the death of an employee, which would reasonably lead one to believe that media attention may be focused on the department or that person’s employment with the department.