HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.c. Receive information of notification from Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association (CCCERA) regarding the pensionability of standby pay Page 1 of 3
Item 5.c.
CENTRAL SAN
January 12, 2021
TO: ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
FROM: TEJI O'MALLEY, HUMAN RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
REVIEWED BY: ROGER S. BAILEY, GENERAL MANAGER
SUBJECT: RECEIVE INFORMATION OF NOTIFICATION FROM CONTRA COSTA
COUNTY EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENTASSOCIATION (CCCERA)
REGARDING THE PENSIONABILITYOF STANDBY PAY
Staff received a letter from the Contra Costa County Employees' Retirement Association (CCCERA)
dated October 22, 2020, that notifies the District of their decision to not include standby pay in
pensionable compensation. The letter is attached for your information.
As a result, the District must stop reporting standby pay as a pensionable item in order to be in compliance
with CCCERA's decision.
Human Resources has notified Public Employees Union, Local #1 (Local 1) of CCCERA's decision and
is currently in the meet-and-confer process.
Staff will be available at the Committee meeting to answer any questions.
Strategic Plan re-In
GOAL TWO: Environmental Stewardship
Strategy 1—Achieve 100% compliance in all regulations
ATTACHMENTS:
1. October 22, 2020 CCCERA Letter
January 12, 2021 Regular ADMIN Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 34 of 41
Page 2 of 3
Attachment 1
CCCEM
Contra Costa County Employees'
Retirement Association
October 22, 2020
Teji O'Malley
Human Resources and Organizational Manager
Central Contra Costa Sanitary District
5019 Imhoff Place
Martinez, CA 94553
RE: Standby (Scheduled Mandatory)
Dear Ms. O'Malley,
Based on a review of our records the Central Contra Costa Sanitary District ("District") is
collecting and submitting legacy member retirement contributions for pay code C13, Standby
(Scheduled Mandatory).
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Local 1 and the District provides:
5.1 General: Employees are required to be on Stand-By in order to provide
customer service after normal working hours or to be able to respond quickly to
emergency situations. Employees will be assigned to Stand-By according to the
procedures established in their Division. Stand-By assignments take effect from
the end of an employee's regular work schedule until the beginning of the next
regular work schedule. Employees in a Stand-By status must be capable of being
notified that the District has a need for customer/emergency service and of
responding immediately. The District will make every effort to notify employees
in advance of their Stand-By status; however, circumstances may arise where
advance notice is not possible.
5.2 Stand-By Pay: Employees, other than Pumping Stations Operators and
designated IT staff, on Stand-By will be paid at the rate of one (1) hour of
overtime pay for each weekday and three (3) hours of overtime pay for each
weekend day or paid District holiday. Pumping Stations Operators and IT staff
who have the ability to remotely resolve issues will be paid at the rate of one (1)
hour of overtime pay for each weekday and four and one-half(4.5) hours of
overtime pay for each weekend day or paid District holiday. (Overtime pay is
calculated at one and one-half times the basic rate of pay.)
Stand-By pay is intended to compensate employees for inconvenience,
disruption of their personal life, and for reasonable time spent solving customer
1200 Concord Avenue,Suite 300,Concord, CA 94520 Phone:(925)521-3960 Fax:(925)521-3969 cccero.org
January 12, 2021 Regular ADMIN Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 35 of 41
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Page 2
service/emergency problems that are amenable to resolution from a remote
location.
5.6 Conversion of Stand-By Pay: Stand-By pay will be paid at the overtime rate.
Employees may elect to have their Stand-By pay credited as Earned Time Off.
Limits to the accumulation and use of earned time off as specified elsewhere in
this M.O.U. apply.
After reviewing the information available to CCCERA including the MOU, it appears that treating
the pay code as "compensation earnable" for retirement calculation purposes may not be in
compliance with applicable law because the pay is for additional services provided after normal
working hours. Applicable law states that "compensation earnable" does not include payments
for additional services rendered outside of normal working hours. This provision appears in
Government Code Section 31461(b)(3), which was recently upheld by the California Supreme
Court. (Alameda Court Deputy Sheriffs'Assn. v. Alameda County Employees'Ret. Assn., 9 Cal.5th
1032 (2020). This rule of law is also set forth the CCCERA Board of Retirement Policy On
Determining "Compensation Earnable"Under Assembly Bill 197 For Purposes Of Calculating
Retirement Benefits For "Legacy"(Pre-PEPRA) Members, Section D.
If you disagree with this analysis please provide additional information for our review. If there is
no further information to provide please discontinue collecting and submitting retirement
contributions to CCCERA for pay code C13, Standby (Scheduled Mandatory) with your next
payroll cycle.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Christina Dunn
Deputy CEO
1200 Concord Avenue,Suite 300,Concord, CA 94520 Phone:(925)521-3960 Fax:(925)521-3969 cccera.org
January 12, 2021 Regular ADMIN Committee Meeting Agenda Packet- Page 36 of 41