Sec. 38. (a) “Employee” and “public employee”, for purposes of section 91 of this chapter, IC 34-13-2, IC 34-13-3, IC 34-13-4, and IC 34-30-14, mean a person presently or formerly acting on behalf of a governmental entity, whether temporarily or permanently or with or without compensation, including members of boards, committees, commissions, authorities, and other instrumentalities of governmental entities, volunteer firefighters (as defined in IC 36-8-12-2), and elected public officials.

     (b) The term also includes attorneys at law whether employed by the governmental entity as employees or independent contractors and physicians licensed under IC 25-22.5 and optometrists who provide medical or optical care to confined offenders (as defined in IC 11-8-1) within the course of their employment by or contractual relationship with the department of correction. However, the term does not include:

(1) an independent contractor (other than an attorney at law, a physician, or an optometrist described in this section);

(2) an agent or employee of an independent contractor;

(3) a person appointed by the governor to an honorary advisory or honorary military position; or

(4) a physician licensed under IC 25-22.5 with regard to a claim against the physician for an act or omission occurring or allegedly occurring in the physician’s capacity as an employee of a hospital.

     (c) For purposes of IC 34-13-3 and IC 34-13-4, the term includes a person that engages in an act or omission before July 1, 2004, in the person’s capacity as:

(1) a contractor under IC 6-1.1-4-32 (repealed);

(2) an employee acting within the scope of the employee’s duties for a contractor under IC 6-1.1-4-32 (repealed);

(3) a subcontractor of the contractor under IC 6-1.1-4-32 (repealed) that is acting within the scope of the subcontractor’s duties; or

(4) an employee of a subcontractor described in subdivision (3) that is acting within the scope of the employee’s duties.

[Pre-1998 Recodification Citations: 34-4-16.5-2(a) part; 34-4-16.5-2(b); 34-4-16.6-1 part.]

As added by P.L.1-1998, SEC.1. Amended by P.L.142-1999, SEC.1; P.L.250-2001, SEC.1; P.L.1-2002, SEC.142; P.L.151-2002, SEC.4 and P.L.178-2002, SEC.112; P.L.1-2003, SEC.88; P.L.1-2007, SEC.223; P.L.121-2009, SEC.14.