BILL NUMBER: SB 294 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 1, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 4, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senators Pan and Nielsen
FEBRUARY 23, 2015
An act to amend Sections 19780, 20997, 21024, and 21029
of the Government Code, relating to public employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 294, as amended, Pan. Public employment: military service:
return to state service. credit.
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.
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.
This bill would require the Board of Administration of the Public
Employees' Retirement System to adopt provide
a separate and unique form to be used by a member to receive
credit for his or her military service,
service with employer-paid employee and employer contributions,
as specified. The bill would require employers to inform the member
of his or her rights to receive that credit with employer-paid
contributions within 30 days of the member's return to state
service by utilizing that form. The bill would additionally
require an employer, on or before form and until
April 1, 2017, would further require state appointing
authorities to provide a letter letters
or electronic communication
communications to all employees informing them of
their right to receive credit for military or uniform service
pursuant to these provisions. those rights.
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
as a result of that person's for certain
active service, prior to entering the
person's first employment with that employer or entrance into
the retirement system, in the Armed Forces of the United States or
the active service in the Merchant Marine of the
United States prior to 1950, States, 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
authorized provided 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
authorized provided pursuant to subdivision (f).
(f) The board shall authorize provide
a separate and unique form to be used by the member to receive
credit for his or her military service as provided by this
section. The form shall not pertain to any other type of service
credit purchase and service. The form shall
clearly state that the member has no obligation to pay for any
portion of the employer contribution required by this
section. if eligibility is determined pursuant to this
section.
SEC. 3. Section 21024 of the Government
Code is amended to read:
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.
(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.
SEC. 3. SEC. 4. 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.