Terminating the Employment Relationship

made in a manner and time period agreed upon by the county and the retirement board. The county shall make the payment with respect to all eligible employees who retire during the period specified by the board of supervisors. 324

The amount of service credit may be any amount as determined by the board of supervisors, but no more than two years of service credit. It shall also not exceed the number of years that exist b etween the date of the member’s retirement and the date of the member’s mandatory retirement age, if any. Golden handshakes are not available to members if the member receives any unemployment insurance payments during the six-month period prior to the window period specified by the board of supervisors for the golden handshake retirement. It is also not available to any member who is not eligible to retire without the additional service credit. Golden handshakes are not applicable in any county or district until Government Code section 31641.04 is adopted by ordinance of the board of supervisors or the governing body of the county or district. Any county or district may adopt or readopt this section at any time as conditions may warrant. 325 If any membe r receives a ’37 Act golden handshake and subsequently reenters employment in a ’37 Act county or district, the member shall forfeit the service credit acquired unless the reentry is a result of a temporary callback limited to a maximum of 750 hours of service in any one year. In addition, the PEPRA requires a 180 day “sit out” period before a retired annuitant, who retires pursuant to accepting a golden handshake , can return to work for a ’37 Act agency (or an agency with a reciprocal retirement system wi th the ’37 Act agency) without reinstatement into the retirement system. 326

A county or district’s decision to offer ’37 Act golden handshakes is not subject to bargaining under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act. 327

L AYOFFS

Section 6

A layoff is yet another way an employer may end the employment relationship with an employee. Despite the direct and indirect costs, as well as the legal and practical concerns they raise, layoffs are often unavoidable in today’s climate of budget crises and the long -term uncertainties of local government financing. In order to protect against liability arising from layoffs, the same three basic principles an agency should apply to other types of employment separations also apply to a layoff: (1) comply with the rules; (2) have documents that support the decision; and (3) treat everyone the same.

Terminating the Employment Relationship ©2022 (s) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 93