BILL NUMBER: AB 2028	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 13, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cooper

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2016

   An act to add Section 20969.3 to the Government Code, relating to
public employees'  retirement.   retirement, and
making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2028, as amended, Cooper.  School and safety employees:
wrongful termination: service credit.   Public
employees' retirement: involuntary termination: reinstatement. 
   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.  PERL requires a
person who has retired under PERS following an involuntary
termination of his or her employment to be reinstated to membership
in that system, effective as of the date from which salary is
awarded, if the person is reinstated to employment pursuant to an
administrative or judicial proceeding and certain other conditions
are met, as specified. PERL   also requires the assets of
the system, including, but not limited to, employee contributions,
employer contributions, and investment income, to be deposited into
the Public Employees' Retirement Fund, a continuously appropriated
fund.  
   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.   bill would additionally require the
reinstatement in PERS of a member, without regard to retirement
status, who is involuntarily terminated on or after January 1, 2017,
and subsequently reinstated to that employment   pursuant to
an administrative, arbitral, or judicial proceeding. The bill would
require contributions to be made to the system for any period for
which salary is awarded in the proceeding and would provide the
member with service credit for that period and reinstatement of
benefits effective as of the date from which salary is awarded, as
specified.  The bill would require  the  
an  employer of the  wrongfully 
involuntarily  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,   the
member's reinstatement,  as specified.  By increasing
contributions to be deposited into the Public Employees' Retirement
Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, the bill would make an
appropriation.  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   yes
 . 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) A member who was involuntarily terminated and who is
subsequently reinstated to that employment, pursuant to an
administrative, arbitral, or judicial proceeding, shall be reinstated
with all retirement benefits that the member otherwise would have
accrued. Administrative proceedings also include proceedings before
the governing board of a school district, a charter school, a county
office of education, or a community college district.
   (b) Reinstatement of benefits shall be effective as of the date
from which salary is awarded in the administrative, arbitral, or
judicial proceedings. Contributions shall be made for any period for
which salary is awarded in the administrative, arbitral, or judicial
proceedings in the amount that the member would have contributed had
his or her employment not been terminated, and he or she shall
receive credit as state service, as defined in Section 20069, for the
period for which salary is awarded and contributions are received.
   (c) This section shall apply to members who were subject to an
involuntary termination effective on or after January 1, 2017.
   (d) An employer of the member described in subdivision (a) shall
notify the board of the final decision ordering the member's
reinstatement to employment within five days of the date the decision
becomes final. The notification shall include the date of
involuntary termination and the date on which the member was
reinstated to employment after the decision. 
   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.  
  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.