Martinez v. Pub. Employees' Ret. Sys.

*1161Government Code1 section 21156, part of the Public Employees Retirement Law, has always equated disability with a state employee being "incapacitated physically or mentally for the performance of his or her duties." And ordinarily, a governmental employee loses the right to claim disability benefits if terminated for cause. A pair of decisions from the Third Appellate District carved out three exceptions to this general rule. First, under Haywood v. American River Protection Dist . (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 1292, 79 Cal.Rptr.2d 749 ( Haywood ), a terminated-for-cause employee can still qualify…