For City Council Meeting September 8, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Tanya Williams, City Manager
AUTHOR: Timothy Sullivan, Assistant City Manager
Title
Request City Council to Adopt Resolution No. 8571 Approving the Industrial Disability Retirement of John Heffelfinger.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Adopt a resolution approving the Industrial Disability Retirement of John Heffelfinger.
BACKGROUND
John Heffelfinger is a 59-year-old Fire Engineer hired on September 22, 2003. Mr. Heffelfinger has a workers’ compensation claim that has been accepted and determined to have arisen out of employment with the City of Rialto.
On September 18, 2024, Mr. Heffelfinger sustained an injury to his right shoulder while lifting a pack overhead in the course of performing his usual and customary duties as a Fire Engineer. At the time of injury, he experienced a sharp pain in his right shoulder. Mr. Heffelfinger subsequently underwent right shoulder arthroscopy with rotator cuff repair and open biceps tenodesis on April 18, 2025. The workers’ compensation claim was accepted as industrial and determined to have arisen out of and in the course and scope of his employment with the City.
An MRI of Mr. Heffelfinger’s right shoulder was performed on October 31, 2024, which revealed acromioclavicular osteoarthrosis. He subsequently underwent conservative treatment, including physical therapy and twelve sessions of work conditioning. Following treatment, Dr. Daniel Kharrazi identified several conditions affecting the right shoulder, including torn biceps anchor with a SLAP tear, Grade III rotator cuff tear, biceps pulley lesion with subluxation and instability of the biceps tendon with tearing of the biceps-labral complex, a shoulder labral tear with severe impingement, anterolateral acromial calcification, and acromioclavicular synovitis and osteoarthritis.
On June 8, 2026, Mr. Heffelfinger was evaluated by Independent Medical Examiner, Dr. Kharrazi, regarding his right shoulder condition. Dr. Kharrazi diagnosed acromioclavicular osteoarthritis and concluded, within reasonable medical certainty, that Mr. Heffelfinger is substantially incapacitated from performing the essential duties of his position as a Fire Engineer as a result of his right shoulder injury.
On April 10, 2026, Mr. Heffelfinger filed an Industrial Disability Application with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (“CalPERS”).
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION
For Local Safety Members enrolled in CalPERS, California Government Code 21156 sets forth the criteria for the City Council to decide that a public employee is incapacitated physically or mentally for the performance of their duties and is eligible to retire based on their disabling condition.
In accordance with the California Public Employees’ Retirement Law (“PERL”), a local safety employee qualifies for an IDR if they 1) are determined, on the basis of competent medical opinion, to be substantially incapacitated from performing the usual and customary duties of their position, 2) the disability is permanent or of an extended and uncertain duration, and 3) the cause of the injury or illness is industrial, arising out of and in the course of employment.
In accordance with CalPERS guidelines, as soon as it is believed that an employee is unable to perform their job because of an industrial injury or illness that is expected to be permanent or of an extended and uncertain duration, the employee (or the employer on their behalf) should submit an application for an IDR.
Mr. Heffelfinger exercised his option to file for an IDR on April 10, 2026, based upon medical findings from the IME that he has reached Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI) and is substantially incapacitated from his usual and customary duties as a Fire Engineer.
Considering the above, the City’s Workers’ Compensation Attorney, Dave Thomas, believes that the City has all the information necessary to determine that Mr. John Heffelfinger to be industrially disabled from his position of Fire Engineer/Paramedic and in accordance with the criteria set forth in the PERL. Upon City Council adoption of the attached resolution, staff will send the resolution to CalPERS to certify his industrial disability and to CalPERS to process his IDR application.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
This request is not a Project as defined by Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. A “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Pursuant to Section 15378(b)(5), a project does not include organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY
This action is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A in the General Plan:
“Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent, and responsible manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.”
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the Resolution as to form.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact
This action has no impact on the operating budget. Any payments made to Mr. Heffelfinger since the effective date of retirement shall be requested for credit from CalPERS.
Capital Budget Impact:
This action has no impact on the Capital Budget.
Attachment:
1. Resolution