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. This 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 an employer of the involuntarily terminated employee to notify the board of the final decision ordering 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.