Terminating the Employment Relationship

c. Can the Determination be Appealed? CalPERS ’ or the county retirement board’s decision on the application for disability retirement is not the last step in the disability retirement process. The determination may be reconsidered and/or appealed. A discussion of the appeal by a local safety member in a PERS agency is discussed below. i. PERS Miscellaneous Members A miscellaneous CalPERS member may appeal a denial of disability retirement directly to CalPERS within 30 days from the date of the notification letter. The appeal is then heard by an administrative law judge according to the procedures set forth in the Administrative Procedures Act. 259 A member may also appeal a decision by CalPERS that the disability was non-industrial in nature. The member must appeal by filing a “Petition for Finding of Fact” with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, requesting a finding of industrial causation pursuant to Government Code section 21166. 260 The Petition for Finding of Fact must be served on CalPERS. During this process, the member and CalPERS must abide by the procedures of the Workers Compensation Appeals Board. Alt hough Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board procedures are used, PERS substantive law is applied to determine whether the disability retirement is industrial in nature. 261 ’37 Act If a retirement board finds that a member does not qualify for a disability retirement or that a member’s disability retirement is non -industrial in nature, the member or the employing county or district may seek r econsideration from the county retirement board if the retirement board’s rules provide for reconsideration. Otherwise, the member or the employing county or district may obtain judicial review of such action of the board by filing a petition for writ of mandate in superior court, or by joining or intervening in such action filed by the member within 30 days of the mailing of such notice. 262 ii. 7. P ROCEDURES FOR H ANDLING L OCAL S AFETY D ISABILITY R ETIREMENT A PPLICATIONS : A P RIMER FOR PERS A GENCIES PERS contracting agencies may also refer to the CalPERS Procedure Manual available on the CalPERS website for information pertaining to the handling of local safety disability retirement applications. CalPERS also provides sample resolutions as a reference.

The following discussion addresses the process and procedure for handling local safety member applications for disability.

Terminating the Employment Relationship ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 74