BILL NUMBER: AB 2028	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooper

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2016

   An act to add Section 20969.3 to the Government Code, relating to
public employees' retirement.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2028, as introduced, Cooper. School and safety employees:
wrongful termination: service credit.
   Existing law, the Public Employees' Retirement Law (PERL), creates
the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of
providing pension benefits to state employees and employees of
contracting agencies and prescribes the rights and duties of members
of the system and their beneficiaries. PERS provides defined benefits
to members based on final compensation, credited service, and age at
retirement, subject to certain variations.
   Under PERL, time during which a member is absent from service
without compensation is generally not considered in computing service
for the purposes of those benefits. However, as an exception to this
general rule, PERL provides that, for all retirement purposes of
local safety members or employees of specified local educational
entities, if the employee is subject to a mandatory furlough, the
employee's credit for service and compensation earnable includes the
amount of service that would have been credited and the compensation
earnable that would have been reported had the employee not been
subject to the mandatory furlough, as specified.
   This bill, for an employee specified above who is wrongfully
terminated, as defined, would require the employee's credit for
service and compensation earnable to include the amount of service
that would have been credited and the compensation earnable that
would have been reported had the employee not been wrongfully
terminated. The bill would require the employer of the wrongfully
terminated employee to notify the board of the final decision
ordering reinstatement of the employee and would further require the
employer to provide the board with any additional information as the
board may require, as specified. By requiring local government
employers to provide this notification and information, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 20969.3 is added to the Government Code, to
read:
   20969.3.  (a) For all retirement purposes, including benefit
eligibility and calculations of retirement allowances under this part
for a person employed by a county office of education, a school
district, a school district that is a contracting agency, a community
college district, or a local safety member, as defined in Section
20420, who was wrongfully terminated, the employee's credit for
service and compensation earnable shall include the amount of service
that would have been credited and the compensation earnable that
would have been reported had the employee not been wrongfully
terminated.
   (b) An employer of an employee described in subdivision (a) shall
notify the board of the final decision ordering reinstatement within
five days of the date the decision becomes final. The notification
shall include the date of wrongful termination and the date on which
the employee was reinstated after the decision. The employer shall
provide any additional information as the board may require to
implement this section.
   (c) For purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
   (1) "Wrongful termination" means any termination action by an
employer that has been reversed or modified by a final decision
ordering reinstatement.
   (2) "Final decision ordering reinstatement" means a final decision
of the employer, a court, an administrative agency, a personnel
commission, or an arbitrator, that orders the reinstatement of the
employee to employment with the employer.
  SEC. 2.  If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.