SECTIONS 22850-22856 - California Statutes

EDUCATION CODE

SECTION 22850-22856

22850. (a) The Legislature hereby declares its intent to provide
benefits under this part to reemployed members who have been absent
from a position of employment subject to coverage under the Defined
Benefit Program to perform service in the uniformed services of the
United States in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment
and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (Chapter 43 (commencing with
Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code).
(b) The system shall comply with Chapter 43 (commencing with
Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code, as that chapter
may be amended from time to time.
(c) "Service in the uniformed services" means the performance of
duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under
competent authority and includes active duty, active duty for
training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training,
and a period for which a member is absent from a position of
employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness
of the member to perform any duty.
(d) "Uniformed services" means the Armed Forces of the United
States of America, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard
when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or
full-time National Guard duty, the commissioned corps of the Public
Health Service, and any other category of persons designated by the
President in time of war or emergency.
(e) Except as provided in Section 22851, no benefit shall accrue
during the period of service in the uniformed services if the member
does not return to employment, with the same employer which had
employed the member immediately prior to the eligible period of
service in the uniformed services, as prescribed in Chapter 43
(commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code.

22851. The right to pension benefits under this part of a member
who returns to employment with the same employer which had employed
the member immediately prior to the eligible period of service in the
uniformed services, and is subject to Chapter 43 (commencing with
Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code shall be
determined under this section.
(a) (1) A member shall be treated as not having incurred a break
in service by reason of that member's eligible period or periods of
service in the uniformed services.
(2) Each eligible period of service served by a member in the
uniformed services shall, upon return to employment, with the same
employer which had employed the member immediately prior to the
eligible period of service in the uniformed services, be deemed to
constitute service with the employer or employers toward plan vesting
and eligibility for membership in the Defined Benefit Program.
(3) A member who returns to employment, with the same employer
which had employed the member immediately prior to the eligible
period of service in the uniformed services shall not be entitled to
any benefits under this part in respect of service in the uniformed
services to which the member would not otherwise have been entitled
had the member remained continuously employed and not undertaken such
service in the uniformed services.
(b) For purposes of calculating benefits, a member who returns to
employment with the same employer which had employed the member
immediately prior to the eligible period of service in the uniformed
services shall be entitled to service credit under this part for the
eligible period of service in the uniformed services upon his or her
payment of the member contributions required under Section 22901 that
otherwise would have been due for such period of service had the
member remained continuously employed and not undertaken such service
in the uniformed services. No such payment of member contributions
may exceed the amount the member would have been required to
contribute under this part had the member not served in the uniformed
services and had remained continuously employed by the employer
throughout the eligible period of service in the uniformed services.
If a member fails to remit the member contributions that would have
been required under Section 22901 in respect of the eligible period
of service in the uniformed services no service credit shall be
provided under this part for the period to which the omitted
contributions relate.
(c) Any payment of member contributions to the Defined Benefit
Program in this section shall be made by the member during the period
beginning with the date of return to employment and may continue for
three times the period of the member's eligible service in the
uniformed services, not to exceed five years. Any payment of member
contributions to the Defined Benefit Program in this section by a
member who returned to employment prior to January 1, 1997, and
qualifies for benefits in accordance with the Uniformed Services
Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (Chapter 43
(commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States
Code), shall be made by the member during the period beginning with
the date of notification of eligibility by the employer to the system
and may continue for three times the period of the member's eligible
service in the uniformed services, not to exceed five years. Any
subsequent request to purchase this service shall be subject to the
provisions of Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 22800). If all
contributions due under this part are not paid to the plan with
respect to the Defined Benefit Program within the specified repayment
period and in accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 22851 the
contributions shall be returned to the member at the end of the
repayment period. Interest on member contributions made for the
eligible period of service in the uniformed services shall not be
credited under this part until after the contributions due are paid
and then only prospectively to the member's account in accordance
with Section 22216.

22852. (a) An employer reemploying a member of the Defined Benefit
Program with service subject to the requirements of Chapter 43
(commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code
shall be liable to the plan for the employer contributions under this
part, provided that employer was the last employer employing the
member immediately prior to the period served by the member in the
uniformed services.
(b) For purposes of determining the amount of that liability under
this part and any obligation to the plan with respect to the Defined
Benefit Program, interest shall not be included in the liability to
the plan.
(c) Subject to subdivision (e), the employer shall pay the
employer contributions for the eligible period of service in the
uniformed services that would have been required under Sections 22950
and 22951 had the member remained continuously employed during that
period of eligible service in the uniformed services.
(d) The employer shall not be liable for employer contributions
under this part for the eligible period of service in the uniformed
services to the extent that the member fails to remit the member
contributions for that period.
(e) The employer shall provide information regarding the
reemployment of a member who is subject to Chapter 43 (commencing
with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code on a form
prescribed by the system within 30 days of the date of reemployment.
(f) Employers shall remit to the plan with respect to the Defined
Benefit Program the employer contributions required under subdivision
(c) within 60 working days of the date the system notifies the
employer of the amount of contributions due with respect to the
member who elects to remit the member contributions for the eligible
period of service in the uniformed services.
(g) If the employee does not comply with subdivision (b) of
Section 22851 within the time period specified, the employer
contributions that were remitted for that period shall be adjusted
pursuant to Section 23008.

22853. For purposes of computing an employer's contributions for
the eligible period of service or the member's contributions under
this part, the employee's compensation earnable during the period
shall be computed as follows:
(a) The compensation earnable the member would have received for
the eligible period of service.
(b) In the event the compensation earnable is not reasonably
certain, the employer's contributions and member's contributions
shall be based on the member's average compensation earnable during
the 12-month period immediately preceding the eligible period of
service in the uniformed services or, if shorter, the period of
employment immediately preceding that period of service.

22854. A reemployed member who has been absent from a position of
employment subject to coverage under the Defined Benefit Program to
perform service in the uniformed services, pursuant to Section 22850,
for a period in excess of five years shall not be entitled to
service credit or credit for plan vesting purposes under this part,
except where the service in the uniformed services has exceeded five
years for the following reasons:
(a) The member is required to serve beyond five years to complete
an initial period of obligated service.
(b) The member was unable to obtain orders releasing the member
from a period of service in the uniformed services before the
expiration of the five-year period and that inability was through no
fault of the member.
(c) The member served in the uniformed services as required
pursuant to Section 270 of Title 10 of the United States Code,
Section 502(a) or 503 of Title 32 of the United States Code, or to
fulfill additional training requirements determined and certified in
writing by the Secretary of Defense, to be necessary for professional
development, or for completion of skill training or retraining.
(d) The member is ordered to do any of the following:
(1) Ordered to or retained on active duty under Section 672(a),
672(g), 673, 673(b), 673(c), or 688 of Title 10 of the United States
Code or under Section 331, 332, 359, 360, 367, or 712 of Title 14 of
the United States Code.
(2) Ordered to or retained on active duty, other than for
training, under any provision of law during a war or during a
national emergency declared by the President or the Congress.
(3) Ordered to active duty, other than for training, in support,
as determined by the secretary concerned, of an operational mission
for which personnel have been ordered to active duty under Section
673(b) of Title 10 of the United States Code.
(4) Ordered to active duty in support, as determined by the
secretary concerned, of a critical mission or requirement of the
uniformed services.
(5) Called into federal service as a member of the National Guard
under Chapter 15 (commencing with Section 331) of Title 10 of the
United States Code or under Section 3500 or 8500 of Title 10 of the
United States Code.

22855. A member of the Defined Benefit Program shall have no right
to the benefits under this part otherwise accorded under this chapter
in respect of service in the uniformed services upon the occurrence
of any of the following events:
(a) A separation of the member from the uniformed service with a
dishonorable or bad conduct discharge.
(b) A separation of the member from the uniformed service under
other than honorable conditions, as characterized pursuant to
regulations prescribed by the secretary concerned.
(c) A dismissal of the member permitted under Section 1161(a) of
Title 10 of the United States Code.
(d) A dropping of the member from the rolls pursuant to Section
1161(b) of Title 10 of the United States Code.

22856. No provision of this chapter shall apply to the extent it
would require any action to be taken that would cause the plan or its
members under this part to incur adverse tax consequences under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (Title 26 of the United States Code).