SECTIONS 120520-120523 - California Statutes

PUBLIC UTILITIES CODE

SECTION 120520-120523

120520. Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing
facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or utility,
either in proceedings by eminent domain or otherwise and terminates
the legal existence of the corporation or utility, and operates the
facilities itself, to the extent necessary for operation of
facilities, any of the employees whose duties pertain to the
facilities acquired who have been employed by the corporation or
utility, as the case may be, for at least 75 days shall be appointed
to comparable positions by the board without examination. These
employees shall be given sick leave, seniority, and vacation credits
in accordance with the records of the corporation or other acquired
utility, as the case may be. No employee of the former corporation or
utility shall suffer any worsening of wages, seniority, pension,
vacation, or other benefits as they exist at the time of and by
reason of the acquisition.
The board shall assume and observe all existing labor contracts of
the former corporation or utility, as the case may be, insofar as
they relate to the acquired facilities.
This section applies only to those officers or supervisory
employees of the former corporation or utility, as the case may be,
as shall be designated by the board.

120521. (a) Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing
facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or public
utility, either in proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise, and
terminates the corporation or operates the facilities itself, that
has a pension plan in operation, the members and beneficiaries of the
pension plan shall continue to have the rights, privileges,
benefits, obligations, and status with respect to the plan.
The board shall consider, and take into account, the outstanding
obligations and liabilities of the corporation or of the publicly or
privately owned public utility, as the case may be, by reason of the
pension plan, and may negotiate an allowance in the purchase price of
the corporation or the utility for the assumption of those
obligations and liabilities when acquiring the corporation or the
utility.
(b) Instead of maintaining an existing pension plan applicable to
bargaining unit employees of an acquired facility, the board, with
the consent of any exclusive collective bargaining representative of
employees of an acquired facility whose rights are protected by
Section 120520, may enroll the employees in, or transfer them to, the
Public Employees' Retirement System or another retirement system.
(c) A contract to enroll employees in the Public Employees'
Retirement System shall be subject to the provisions of Part 3
(commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.
(d) Employees participating in an existing pension plan shall
receive benefits immediately after enrollment in, or transfer to, the
system that are at least equal to, or greater than, the benefits the
employees would have been entitled to immediately before enrollment
in, or transfer to, the system.

120522. Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing
facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or public
utility, either in proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise and
maintains the corporation or utility, by whatever name, as a
separate, legal corporate entity, the board of directors of the
corporation or utility shall continue its responsibilities with
regard to its employees' wages, hours, and other terms and conditions
of employment, existing labor contracts, and existing pension plans.

120523. (a) Any pension plan maintained by the board pursuant to
this division for employees of the board who are members of a unit
appropriate for collective bargaining shall be maintained pursuant to
a collective bargaining agreement and this section.
(b) The pension plan and the funds of the plan shall be managed
and administered by a retirement board composed of equal
representation of labor and management. Any deadlock among the
members of the board with respect to that management and
administration shall be resolved in the manner specified in Section
302 of the federal Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C.
Sec. 186(c)(5)).
(c) The duties and responsibilities of the retirement board shall
be executed in accordance with Section 17 of Article XVI of the
California Constitution.
(d) This section does not apply if the board has, pursuant to a
collective bargaining agreement, provided membership for the board's
represented employees in the Public Employees' Retirement System, a
retirement system established pursuant to the County Employees
Retirement Law of 1937, or a pension trust subject to the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.).