Amended in Assembly August 1, 2016

Amended in Senate January 4, 2016

Senate Bill No. 294

Introduced by Senators Pan and Nielsen

February 23, 2015

An act to amend Sections 19780, 20997, begin insert 21024, end insert and 21029 of the Government Code, relating to public employment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 294, as amended, Pan. Public employment: military service: begin delete return to state service. end delete begin insert credit. end insert

begin delete

The State Civil Service Act requires the reinstatement of a permanent, probationary, or exempt employee who returns from active duty military service to his or her former position, as specified. Under existing law, reinstatement to an employee’s former exempt position reestablishes the employee’s tenure and civil service reinstatement rights, if any, as they existed immediately prior to his or her military leave. Existing law requires an employer to contribute an amount equal to the contributions that would have been made by the employer and the employee during the employee’s absence if that absence is due to military service or service with the uniformed services, except as specified.

end delete begin insert

The Public Employees’ Retirement Law (PERL) creates the Public Employees’ Retirement System (PERS) for the purpose of providing pension and other benefits to public employees, which are funded by employee and employer contributions and investment returns. PERS provides defined benefits to its members based on their final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. Existing law provides a member with an absence due to military service or service with the uniformed services with the right to receive credit for service for the period of that absence and requires the member’s employer to contribute both the employee and employer contributions for that period if specified conditions are met.

end insert

This bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System to begin delete adopt end delete begin insert provide end insert a separate and unique form to be used by a member to receive credit for his or her military begin delete service, end delete begin insert service with employer-paid employee and employer contributions, end insert as specified. The bill would require employers to inform the member of his or her rights begin insert to receive that credit with employer-paid contributions end insert within 30 days of the member’s return to state service by utilizing that begin delete form. The bill would additionally require an employer, on or before end delete begin insert form and until end insert April 1, 2017, begin insert would further require state appointing authorities end insert to provide begin delete a letter end delete begin insert letters end insert or electronic begin delete communication end delete begin insert communications end insert to all employees informing them of begin delete their right to receive credit for military or uniform service pursuant to these provisions. end delete begin insert those rights. end insert

Existing law authorizes a member to elect at any time prior to retirement, in accordance with regulations of the Board of Administration of the Public Employees’ Retirement System, to receive credit for public service, in addition to his or her current and prior service credit.

This bill would require an employer to inform a new employee at the time of hire of his or her rights to purchase service credit begin delete as a result of that person’s end delete begin insert for certain end insert active service, prior to begin delete entering end delete begin insert the person’s first employment with that employer or entrance into end insert the retirement system, in the Armed Forces of the United States or begin delete the active service end delete in the Merchant Marine of the United begin delete States prior to 1950, end delete begin insert States, end insert as specified.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 19780 of the Government Code is
amended to read:

19780.  

(a) Except as provided in Section 19781, a permanent,
probationary, or exempt employee who begins active duty within
90 calendar days from the effective date of his or her long-term
military leave or within 10 calendar days from the effective date
of his or her short-term or emergency military leave and who
returns to state service within six months after termination of
military service under his or her long-term military leave or within
10 days after termination of military service under his or her
short-term or emergency military leave shall be reinstated to his
or her former position. Reinstatement to an employee’s former
exempt position under this section or Section 19783 shall
reestablish the employee’s tenure and civil service reinstatement
rights, if any, as they existed immediately prior to his or her
military leave pursuant to this section or resignation pursuant to
Section 19783. For the purpose of this section any period of
rehabilitation afforded by the United States or the state following
active duty shall be considered as military service and termination
of the state military emergency by the Governor shall be considered
termination of military service.

(b) Within 30 days of the employee’s return to state service, the
appointing authority shall inform the employee of his or her rights
pursuant to Section 20997, and provide the member with the form
begin delete authorized end delete begin insert provided end insert pursuant to subdivision (f) of that section.

(c) Prior to April 1, 2017, every appointing authority shall
provide a letter or electronic communication to all employees
informing them of the rights provided by Section 20997.

SEC. 2.  

Section 20997 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

20997.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part,
for each member other than a National Guard member absent
without compensation due to military service pursuant to Section
20990, the employer shall contribute an amount equal to the
contributions that would have been made by the employer and the
employee during the absence. The employer’s contribution pursuant
to this section shall be based upon the member’s compensation
earnable and the contribution rates in effect at the commencement
of the absence, if any of the following apply:

(1) The member returns to state service within six months after
receiving a discharge from military service other than dishonorable.

(2) The member returns to state service within six months after
completion of any period of rehabilitation offered by the United
States government, except that for purposes of this section,
rehabilitation solely for education purposes shall not be considered.

(3) The member is granted a leave of absence from the state
employer as of the same date the member was reinstated to that
employment from military service, provided that the member
returns to state service at the conclusion of the leave.

(4) The member is placed on a state civil service reemployment
list within six months after receiving a discharge from military
service other than dishonorable and returns to state service upon
receipt of an offer of reemployment.

(5) The member retires from this system for service or disability
during the course of an absence from state service for military
service.

(6) The member dies during the course of an absence from state
service for military service.

(b) Any member on leave from state service for military service
who elects to continue contributing to this system shall be entitled
to a refund of those contributions upon request.

(c) Any member who withdrew contributions during or in
contemplation of his or her military service is entitled to the
benefits of this section irrespective of whether the contributions
are redeposited. The rate for future contributions for the member
shall be based upon the member’s age at the time the member
commenced a leave of absence from state service for service in
the military.

(d) The employer’s contribution pursuant to this section may
be made either in lump sum, or it may be included in its monthly
contribution as adjusted by inclusion of the amount due in the
employer rate at the valuation most near in time to the event
causing the employer’s liability for those contributions. The
employer’s contributions pursuant to this section shall be used
solely for the purpose of paying retirement and death benefits and
shall not be paid to the member whose contributions are refunded
to him or her pursuant to Section 20735.

(e) Within 30 days of the member’s return to state service, the
employer shall inform the member of his or her rights pursuant to
this section, and provide the employee with the form begin delete authorized end delete
begin insert provided end insert pursuant to subdivision (f).

(f) The board shall begin delete authorize end delete begin insert provide end insert a separate and unique form
to be used by the member to receive credit for his or her military
begin delete service as provided by this section. The form shall not pertain to
any other type of service credit purchase and end delete begin insert service. The form end insert
shall clearly state that the member has no obligation to pay for any
portion of the employer contribution begin delete required by this section. end delete begin insert if
eligibility is determined pursuant to this section. end insert

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 21024 of the end insert begin insert Government Code end insert begin insert is amended to
read: end insert

21024.  

(a) “Public service” with respect to a local member,
other than a school member, also means active service with the
Armed Forces or the Merchant Marine of the United States,
including time during any period of rehabilitation afforded by the
United States government other than a period of rehabilitation for
purely educational purposes, and for six months thereafter prior
to the member’s first employment by the employer under this
section in which he or she was a member.

(b) Any member electing to receive credit for that public service
shall make the contributions as specified in Sections 21050 and
21052. However, any eligible member who requests costing of
service credit between January 1, 2001, and December 31, 2003,
may, instead of making those contributions, make the payment
calculated under this article as it read on December 31, 2000, which
payment shall be made in the manner described in Section 21050.

(c) The public service under this section shall not include
military service (1) in any period for which credit is otherwise
given under this article or Article 4 (commencing with Section
20990) or (2) to the extent that total credit under this section would
exceed four years.

(d) Notwithstanding Section 21034, a member may select which
of two or more periods of service entitles him or her to receive
public service under this section.

(e) This section shall apply to a member only if he or she elects
to receive credit while he or she is in state service in the
employment of one employer on or after the date of the employer’s
election to be subject to this section.

(f) This section shall not apply to any contracting agency nor
to the employees of any contracting agency until the agency elects
to be subject to this section by amendment to its contract made in
the manner prescribed for approval of contracts or in the case of
contracts made after this section takes effect, by express provision
in the contract making the contracting agency subject to this
section. The amendments to this section made during the second
year of the 1999-2000 Regular Session shall apply to contracts
subject to this section on January 1, 2001.

begin insert

(g) An employer shall inform a new employee at the time of hire
of his or her rights to purchase service credit under this section.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 3. end delete

begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

Section 21029 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

21029.  

(a) “Public service” with respect to a state member or
a school member or with respect to a retired former state employee
or a retired former school employee, who retired on or after
December 31, 1981, also means active service, prior to entering
this system as a state member or as a school member, of not less
than one year in the Armed Forces of the United States, or, active
service, prior to entering this system as a state or school member,
of not less than one year in the Merchant Marine of the United
States prior to January 1, 1950. Public service credit shall not be
granted if the service described above terminated with a discharge
under dishonorable conditions. The public service credit to be
granted for that service shall be on the basis of one year of credit
for each year of credited state service, but shall not exceed a total
of four years of public service credit regardless of the number of
years of either that service or subsequent state service. A state
member or a school member or a retired former state employee or
a retired former school employee electing to receive a credit for
that public service shall have been credited with at least one year
of state service on the date of election or the date of retirement.

(b) An election by a state member or a school member with
respect to public service under this section may be made only while
the member is in state, university, or school employment, and a
retired former employee shall have retired immediately following
service as a state member or as a school member. The retirement
allowance of a retired former state employee or a retired former
school employee, who elects to receive public service credit
pursuant to this section shall be increased only with respect to the
allowance payable on and after the date of election. For the
purposes of this section, a member as described in subdivision (d)
of Section 20776, shall also mean a former state employee or a
former school employee, who retired on or after December 31,
1981.

(c) A member or retired former employee who elects to become
subject to this section shall make the contributions as specified in
Sections 21050 and 21052.

(d) The board has no duty to locate or notify any eligible former
member who is currently retired or to provide the name or address
of any such retired person, agency, or entity for the purpose of
notifying those persons.

(e) An employer shall inform a new employee at the time of
hire of his or her rights to purchase service credit under this section.