Rick Godinez — ADJ11998534

Rick Godinez, a Los Angeles firefighter with about 30 years of service, entered the City's Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) around 2015, agreeing to separate after five years. He also worked intermittently as a firefighting consultant for a television production in 2019, and filed a cumulative trauma claim. The parties stipulated he became temporarily totally disabled on December 8, 2019; the City paid Labor Code section 4850 benefits through April 7, 2020, when applicant separated per the DROP agreement, after which the City terminated benefits claiming he had withdrawn from the labor market. The WCJ found applicant had not withdrawn and retained post-retirement earning capacity, awarding TTD calculated under section 4453(c)(4) (earning capacity) rather than section 4453(c)(1) (actual full-time firefighter wages at time of injury). The Appeals Board affirmed the August 5, 2020 Findings of Fact and Award, adopting the WCJ's Report, and denied applicant's Petition for Reconsideration.