FROM: Barbara Hannah, Chief Counsel
SUBJECT: Disability Retirement Application of Robert R. Yglesias
RECOMMENDATION:
title
Refer the matter back with instructions to the hearing officer for further proceedings regarding the application for Service-Connected Disability Retirement of Robert R. Yglesias - San Bernardino County - Sheriff.
body
BACKGROUND:
This matter is in closed session to consider whether to refer the matter back with instructions on the basis that the hearing officer applied the incorrect legal standards in determining the Applicant’s date of application. The hearing officer concluded that the Applicant “made [the] application” in December 2021, when he signed the disability retirement application, rather than on April 8, 2022, the date SBCERA deemed the application received. The proposed decision does not cite legal authority supporting the collusion that the signing date controls. Moreover, although SBCERA’s counsel objected and cited multiple authorities supporting the position that the operative date of application is the date the application is filed or received, the hearing officer rejected that argument.
The hearing officer also determined that Applicant date of discontinuance of service was February 16, 2018, a finding that SBCERA’s counsel contends is not supported by the records.
If the hearing officer’s recommendation is approved as written, the earlier application date could result in an increased retroactive benefit period. Additionally, adoption of an unsupported legal standard regarding the filing date may create a precedent affecting future disability retirement determinations and result in inconsistent application of statutory requirements. For these reasons, staff recommends that the Board refer the matter back with specific instruction identifying and applying the correct legal standard for the required determinations.
Staff further recommends that the matter be reassigned to the next hearing officer in rotation. The original hearing officer had the opportunity to consider the correct legal standards when SBCERA’s counsel submitted objections citing supporting authority, but rejected those arguments. In addition, the original hearing officer is no longer serving on the SBCERA Hearing Officer Panel.
Procedural History
On April 8, 2022, Applicant, Robert R. Yglesias, applied for a service-connected disability retirement. On February 1, 2024, Applicant’s Disability Retirement Application was rejected on the grounds it was untimely due to a delay in filing of the application, pursuant to Government Code section 37122, and Rule 5(c) of SBCERA’s Procedures for Disability Retirement Applications and Formal Hearings.
Government Code section 31722 prescribes the requirements as to a timely application. Rule 5 of SBCERA’s Procedures provides standards of operation that if there is a delay in filing a timely application, such delay could potentially prejudice the Board’s ability to make a determination on the application either due to the lack of information or availability of medical records because of the passage of time. In such instances the case is referred to a hearing officer on the limited issue of timeliness only as required by Rule 5(e) of SBCERA’s Procedures.
On February 7, 2025 Robert Snider was assigned as the Hearing Officer, giving him 180 calendar days, up to and including August 6, 2025, to complete the Formal Hearing proceeding and close the record, pursuant to Rule 11 of SBCERA’s Procedures.
The Formal Hearing was held on May 20, 2025. The matter was submitted to the Hearing Officer on August 25, 2025, to render his decision.
On October 27, 2025, SBCERA received the Hearing Officer’s Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommended Decision. On November 3, 2025, the parties were served with the Hearing Officer’s Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommended Decision, giving the parties ten (10) days within which to file objections. On November 10, 2025, Respondent SBCERA filed Objections to the Hearing Officer’s Findings based on the fact that a Disability Retirement Application is not considered filed until it has been received and accepted by SBCERA, and not the date the Applicant signed the Disability Retirement Application. No response to the objections were filed by Applicant.
On December 26, 2025, SBCERA received the Hearing Officer’s Reply to Respondent’s Objections to Recommended Decision. The Hearing Officer disagreed with the applicability of this standard in regard to Government Code section 31722, and Rule 5 of SBCERA’s Procedures as to the timeliness of Applicant’s Disability Retirement Application and ruled the application as timely and reaffirmed the initial Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions and Recommended Decision as his final report.
Applicant In Pro Per
Attorney for Respondent - Christopher Lockwood, Esq.
STAFF CONTACT:
Barbara Hannah
ATTACHMENTS:
Exhibit A: Demographics
Exhibit B: Hearing Officer’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Recommended Decision
Exhibit C: Hearing Officer’s Reply to Respondent’s Objections to Recommended Decision
Exhibit D: Respondent’s Objections to Hearing Officer’s Recommendations
Exhibit E: Applicant’s Closing Brief
Exhibit F: Respondent SBCERA Closing Brief
Exhibit G: Notice of Rejection of Disability Retirement Application
Exhibit H: Applicant’s Statement of Facts
Exhibit I: Department Statement of Facts