FROM: Colin Bishop, Chief of Member Services
SUBJECT: Returning Retiree Certification: Loretta Klopfer
RECOMMENDATION:
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Approve the request to extend re-employment of San Bernardino County Department of Children and Family Services (CFS) Deputy Director Loretta Klopfer from April 1, 2024 to June 28, 2024, because an extreme necessity exists to continue the retiree’s employment beyond the 18 Month limit, and thus the standards of SBCERA Board Benefits Policy No. 032: “Retirees Returning to Work,” have been met.
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BACKGROUND:
The California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (“PEPRA”) provides specific employment restrictions for retirees who return to work with an employer in the same public retirement system from which they receive a benefit. The SBCERA Board of Retirement (“the Board”) policy on “Retirees Returning to Work” outlines the operating criteria under which SBCERA retirees can return to work with SBCERA-covered employers, while remaining in compliance with the restrictions set forth in PEPRA. Most notably, when an employer intends to employ an SBCERA retiree beyond 18 consecutive months from the commencement of his or her re-employment, the request must be approved by the Board.
Loretta Klopfer retired on August 14, 2021 from San Bernardino County and has been re-employed with Children and Family Services (CFS) since September 2022. She was initially certified by SBCERA staff to work from September 24, 2022 through September 9, 2023. The department requested, and was granted, an extension of staff’s certification to continue Ms. Klopfer’s employment through March 23, 2024, for a total of 18 consecutive months of reemployment. The Department is now requesting an additional three months, which requires Board approval.
Sections 5 and 6 of the certification in Exhibit B provide additional background from the employer regarding Ms. Klopfer’s specialized knowledge, and the critical nature of her re-employment. In summary, the employer is requesting to extend Ms. Klopfer’s re-employment to provide administrative oversight for the department’s Annual Adoption Finalization Event. This is a high-profile event attended by many adopting families, foster children, and court judges. The employer contends that without Ms. Klopfer’s re-employment, the event’s chances for success may be jeopardized.
Pursuant to Board policy and applicable law, upon receiving and reviewing the justification to extend the retiree’s employment beyond the 18 consecutive month limit for presumed compliance with the statutory “limited duration” standard, the Board must determine whether the following are true:
1. Re-employment is necessary to enable the employer to continue effective operations in light of genuinely extreme necessity that is unavoidable or could not have been anticipated. The retiree's retirement shall not, in and of itself, be considered to have given rise to the extreme necessity to which this paragraph refers; and
2. Re-employment is limited to the completion of a discrete quantity of genuinely limited work that one would expect to be completed at a foreseeable time, or through the completion of a special project.
Based on the Board’s determination above, the Board:
1. Approves the request for extension of employment of the retiree beyond the 18 consecutive month limit, following the recommendation above.
2. Denies the request of extension of employment of retiree beyond the 18 consecutive month limit. In a case of any violation of the law as implemented through Policy No. 032, including continued employment beyond the 18 consecutive month limit or without prior approval, the Board directs staff to suspend the retiree’s retirement benefit and reinstate the retiree to active service. Additionally, staff is directed to commence collection of any retirement benefits received during any unlawful re-employment, as well as contributions from employer and employee.
As noted above, staff recommends that the Board approve this request for the extension of employment for Ms. Klopfer.
BUDGET IMPACT:
None.
STRATEGIC PLANNING GOAL/OBJECTIVE:
Superior Service Experience
STAFF CONTACT:
Colin Bishop
Kathleen Crook
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A: Board Summary Worksheet
Exhibit B: Certification Form
Exhibit C: Prior Certification Forms