When an excluded employee is temporarily disabled for more than 22 consecutive working days by an injury or type of injury designated by the director as qualifying an employee for the benefits of this section, he or she shall receive an enhanced industrial disability leave benefit. The enhanced benefit shall be equivalent to the injured employee’s net take home salary on the date of occurrence of injury. Eligibility and benefits may not exceed 52 weeks within a two-year period after the date of occurrence of the injury. For the purposes of this section, “net salary” means the amount of salary received after federal income tax, state income tax, and the employee’s retirement contribution has been deducted from the employee’s gross salary.

The final decision as to whether an employee is eligible for, or continues to be eligible for, enhanced benefits shall rest with the appointing authority or his or her designee. The appointing authority may periodically review the employee’s condition by any means necessary to determine an employee’s continued eligibility for enhanced benefits.

(Amended by Stats. 1999, Ch. 272, Sec. 2. Effective August 31, 1999.)