AB 1487: Public Employees’ Retirement System: limited term appointments.

The Public Employees Retirement Law (PERL) establishes the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), which provides a defined benefit to members of the system, based on final compensation, credited service, and age at retirement, subject to certain variations. PERL vests the Board of Administration of PERS with management and control of the system, and authorizes the board to employ certain managerial staff including an executive officer. PERL authorizes a public agency and a school employer to contract to make their employees members of PERS. PERL establishes the compensation earnable by members of the system, defined as the members payrate and special compensation, which includes out-of-class pay for state members. Existing law requires fees and other amounts received by the Board of Administration of PERS pursuant to PERL to be credited to the Public Employees Retirement Fund, a continuously appropriated fund.

This bill would prohibit an out-of-class appointment by a contracting agency or school employer from exceeding 960 hours each fiscal year. The bill would define out-of-class appointment to mean an appointment to an upgraded position or higher classification by an employer or governing board or body in a vacant position for a limited duration. The bill would require employers to track hours worked in these positions and report them to the system within 30 days after the end of the fiscal year. The bill would specify that compensation for a limited duration position under these circumstances would be pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or publicly available pay schedule. The bill would require an employer who violates this provision to make payments to the system for treble the amount of money that otherwise would have been paid in the form of employee and employer contributions, as specified, and to provide reimbursement for administrative expenses, as determined by the executive officer. By depositing new moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.