CALIFORNIA STATUTES AND CODES
SECTIONS 20990-21013
GOVERNMENT CODE
SECTION 20990-21013
20990. A member is absent on military service when he or she is
absent from state service by reason of service with the uniformed
services. 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.
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.
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.
20991. Any member who was absent on military service and whose
contributions are not paid for him or her by his or her employer as
provided in Section 20997, may make the contributions upon his or her
return to state service at times and in the manner prescribed by the
board. If he or she does so contribute, he or she shall receive
credit for the absence as state service in the same manner as if he
or she had not been absent from state service.
20993. When a member makes the contributions as provided in Section
20991, the same contributions shall be made by the state or
contracting agency with respect to the absence that would have been
made if the member had not been absent on military service, except
that the contributions shall be determined by the employer rate of
contribution in effect when the contributions are made and may be
included in the employer rate of contribution at the next valuation.
20994. Any employee of a contracting agency who is or was absent on
military service on the effective date of the contract and who would
become or would have become a member if he or she were not absent
becomes or became a member on the effective date, with the same
status and rights of membership as if he or she were not or had not
been so absent on the effective date. Any such employee and any other
employee of a contracting agency who was absent on military service
prior to the effective date shall receive credit as prior service for
time during which he or she was absent on military service prior to
the effective date provided the employee is entitled to receive prior
service credit pursuant to Section 20933 or 20934 and he or she
returned to employment of the contracting agency within six months of
the termination of his or her active service with the uniformed
services under conditions other than dishonorable or within six
months after any period of rehabilitation afforded by the United
States government other than a period of rehabilitation for purely
educational purposes.
20995. Any person in the employ of the state who was or is absent
on military service on the date when he or she otherwise would have
become or would become a member, became or becomes a member on that
date, with the same status and rights of membership as if he or she
had not been or were not absent.
20996. An employee of a contracting agency who is or was absent on
military service on the effective date of the contract and who would
become or would have become a member if he or she were not absent
becomes or became a member on that effective date, with the same
status and rights of membership as if he or she were not or had not
been absent on that effective date. The employee and any other
employee of a contracting agency who was absent on military service
prior to that effective date shall receive credit as prior service
for time during which he or she was absent on military service prior
to that effective date provided that employee is entitled to receive
prior service credit pursuant to Section 20933, 20934, or 20972 and
he or she returned to employment of the contracting agency within six
months of the termination of his or her active service with the
uniformed services under conditions other than dishonorable or within
six months after any period of rehabilitation afforded by the United
States government other than a period of rehabilitation for purely
educational purposes.
This section shall not apply to any contracting agency nor to the
employees of a contracting agency until the agency elects to be
subject to this section by amendment to its contract made in the
manner prescribed for the approval of contracts or in the case of
contracts made after January 1, 1989, by express provision in the
contract making the contracting agency subject to this section.
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.
20998. If a member for whose absence on military service employer's
contributions are paid or payable under Section 20997 withdraws or
has withdrawn or is or has been paid his or her accumulated
contributions after his or her return to state service from military
service, and thereafter reenters or reentered state service without
redepositing the amount of the accumulated contributions last
withdrawn by or repaid to him or her, he or she is nevertheless
entitled to be credited with the employer's contributions for his or
her absence on military service under Section 20997, and to receive
credit for service for the period of his or her absence on military
service, the same as if he or she had not withdrawn or been repaid
his or her accumulated contributions. The future contribution rate of
a member shall be based upon an age determined by deducting the
period of his or her absence on military service so credited to him
or her from his age at the time of his or her last re-entry into
state service.
21002. A member who returns to active service following an
employer-approved uncompensated leave of absence because of his or
her serious illness may purchase service credit for that period of
absence upon the payment of contributions as specified in Sections
21050 and 21052. The purchase of additional service credit pursuant
to this paragraph shall not reduce the amount of service credit that
the member is eligible to purchase pursuant to this chapter. A member
may purchase service credit pursuant to this section for a leave of
absence that occurred either before or after the effective date of
these provisions.
21003. Time during which a member is absent from state service by
reason of injury or illness determined within one year after the end
of the absence to have arisen out of and in the course of his or her
employment shall be considered as spent in state service for the
purpose of qualification for retirement and death benefits, but not
for calculation of retirement benefits, except as he or she receives
compensation as distinguished from disability indemnity under the
Labor Code, during the absence, and then only to the extent of
compensation received.
21004. "Leave of absence" also means absence from state service
because of illness that arose out of and in the course of employment
and for which the member received temporary disability benefits under
the Labor Code during the absence and did not receive full
compensation as distinguished from the disability benefits for the
period of absence.
21005. Time during which a member is absent from state service
under leave of absence because of injury or illness that arose out of
and in the course of employment, and for which he or she receives
full or part salary in lieu of disability indemnity, shall be
considered as time spent in state service for purposes of requirement
of employer and member contribution, computation of service credit
and qualification for and calculation of benefits as though he or she
had not been absent.
21006. (a) "Leave of absence" also means any time during which a
state member was excused from performance of his or her duties on
approved leave for the purpose of further education. Any member
electing to receive service credit for that leave of absence shall
make the contributions as specified in Sections 21050 and 21052.
However, any eligible member who applies to make that election
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.
(b) Credit granted under this section may not exceed two years.
(c) This section shall be applicable to persons who are members or
became members of this system on and after January 1, 1975.
21007. "Leave of absence" also means any time during which a member
is granted an approved leave for the purpose of service with a
university; college; local, state, federal or foreign governmental
agency; or nonprofit organization, if he or she returns to employment
within the terms and conditions under which the leave was granted. A
member may elect to receive service credit for that leave of absence
at any time prior to retirement by making 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. In no event shall a member receive service credit in excess of
two years for each approved leave of absence.
21008. Time during which a member is excused from performance of
his or her duties, whether or not he or she is required to perform
any portion of those duties during that time, and for which he or she
receives compensation, but in an amount less than the full
compensation earnable by him or her while performing his or her
duties when not so excused, such as sabbatical leave, shall be
credited as service in the proportion that the compensation paid to
the member bears to the full compensation that would be earnable by
him or her while performing his or her duties on a full-time basis.
However, the member shall receive full-time credit for the time if
after returning to the employment from which he or she was excused
and at any time prior to retirement he or she elects to, and does,
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.
21009. "Leave of absence" also means time during which a state
member is excused from the performance of a portion of his or her
duties and did not, during the absence, receive full compensation if
the partial leave of absence was formally granted by the employer for
one of the purposes specified in this article. The contributions and
interest required of the member shall be determined by the section
that defines the purpose of the leave and by the amount of service
credit the member would have received had he or she not been absent.
21010. Unless otherwise provided in this article, a member electing
to receive service credit for time during which he or she was absent
from state service shall contribute in a lump sum or by installments
over that period and subject to such minimum payments as may be
prescribed by regulations of the board, an amount equal to (a) the
contributions he or she would have made to this system for the period
for which current service credit is granted, assuming that the rate
of contribution under his or her employer's formula at the rate age
applicable to him or her at the beginning of his or her first
subsequent period of service in membership and his or her
compensation earnable on that date had applied to him or her during
the period for which credit is granted, plus (b) those added
contributions as may be specially required under this article as a
condition for crediting a particular absence, plus (c) the interest
that would have accrued to those contributions if they had been on
deposit at the beginning date of his or her first subsequent period
of service in membership, from that date until the date of completion
of payments. The beginning date of the first subsequent period of
service for purposes of computation of contributions and interest
shall be deemed to be the end of the period of service credited for a
member who has no subsequent return to service. For a member who is
subject to Sections 21076 and 21077, the service and contribution
rate to be used for purposes of computation shall be deemed to be the
service and contribution rate that would have been used had the
member not been subject to Sections 21076 and 21077.
Service shall be credited as current or prior service, or both, as
it would be credited if the member had been in state service during
his or her absence. All contributions of a member under this article
shall be considered to be and shall be administered as normal
contributions.
21011. Notwithstanding Section 21010, for a member electing to
receive service credit for time during which he or she was absent
from state service who is subject to Sections 21076 and 21077, the
contribution rate to be used for the purposes of computation shall be
deemed to be the contribution rate that would have been used had the
member not been subject to Sections 21076 and 21077.
21012. Benefits based on service credited under this article for an
absence that are in excess of the portion paid from member
contributions shall be paid from contributions of the employer from
whose employment the member was absent.
21013. "Leave of absence" also means any time, up to one year,
during which a member is granted an approved maternity or paternity
leave and returns to employment at the end of the approved leave for
a period of time at least equal to that leave. Any member electing to
receive service credit for that leave of absence shall make the
contributions as specified in Sections 21050 and 21052. This section
applies to both past and future maternity or paternity leaves of
absences by members of the system.