Terminating the Employment Relationship

payments. 230 In addition, the employee is entitled to exhaust sick leave and compensatory time off prior to the effective date of advanced disability pension payments unless the member consents to waive exhaustion of these leave balances or the employer has a policy to the contrary. 231 For ’37 Act employers, an employee should not receive advanced disability pension payments until the expiration of any workers’ compensation leave of absence with compensation to which the employee is entitled unless the employee consents to an earlier time. In addition, an employee should not receive advanced disability pension payments until the employee has exhausted paid sick leave unless the employee consents to an earlier date. 232 Advanced disability pension payments made by a local agency contracting with CalPERS will be reimbursed to the agency by CalPERS. 233 The agency must notify CalPERS of the amount of the advanced disability pension payments and when they will commence. After final adjudication on the disability retirement application, if the application is denied, the local agency and the employee shall arrange for the employee to repay any advanced disability pension payments received by the employee. The repayment plan shall take into account the employee’s ability to repay the payments received. If repayment is not made according to the repayment plan, the local agency may take reasonable steps, including litigation, to recover the payments advanced. 234 The amount of the advanced disability pension payments shall be no less than 50% of the estimated highest average annual compensation earnable by the employee during the three consecutive years of employment immediately preceding the effective date of the employee’s disability retirement, unless the employee chooses an optional settlement in the permanent disability retirement application process which would reduce the pension allowance below 50%, in which case, the advanced pension payments shall be set at an amount equal to the disability pension allowance. Advanced disab ility pension payments are not considered “salary” for any purpose, but rather, pension payments. 235

6. A FTER THE A PPLICATION IS A CCEPTED OR D ENIED

a. What is the Effective Date of Retirement?

i. CalPERS CalPERS makes the initial determination on acceptance of the application of a disability retirement for miscellaneous members. For local safety members, the governing body or its delegate determines if the local safety member shall receive a disability retirement. If the application for retirement is accepted by CalPERS (or the governing board of the public agency in the case of local safety members), the effective date of disability retirement will be the day following the last day of regular pay, if the application was filed within nine months after discontinuance of employment. CalPERS will set the effective date of retirement for

Terminating the Employment Relationship ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 67