File No. 544

House of Representatives, April 18, 2006

The Committee on Appropriations reported through REP. MERRILL of the 54th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the House, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING DISABILITY RETIREMENT FOR CORRECTION OFFICERS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. Section 18-101e of the 2006 supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective from passage):

(a) Whenever a correction officer who is a member of a state employee organization and a member of the state employees retirement system, as a result of a special hazard inherent in the duties of a correction officer, becomes (1) permanently disabled or permanently unable to render service as a correction officer, and (2) permanently unable to engage in other suitable, comparable employment, the state employee organization representing such member may, but is not required to, petition the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management on behalf of such member for a designation of extraordinary circumstances for the purpose of calculating such member's disability retirement income.

(b) If such petition is granted by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or a designee, or as a result of an arbitration conducted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section, the Department of Correction shall (1) elevate such correction officer to the highest pay grade in the member's bargaining unit, effective not later than the member's last day of active state service, and (2) prepare an application for disability retirement benefits under the state employees retirement system that reflects the salary of such highest pay grade. The Retirement Commission shall use the salary of such highest pay grade in determining such member's disability retirement income in accordance with the provisions of chapter 66.

(c) (1) If such petition is denied by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or a designee, the state employee organization representing such member may initiate arbitration by filing with the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration the sole issue of whether such member is entitled to a designation of extraordinary circumstances for the purpose of calculating such member's disability retirement income. A copy of the filing shall be served on the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. Not later than seven days after such copy has been served, the parties shall jointly select an arbitrator. The person selected shall have substantial, current experience as an impartial arbitrator of labor-management disputes. Persons who serve partisan interests as advocates or consultants for labor or management in labor-management relations or who are associated with or are members of a firm that performs such advocate or consultant work may not be selected. If the parties fail to agree on an arbitrator within the seven-day period, the selection shall be made using the procedures under the voluntary labor arbitration rules of the American Arbitration Association.

(2) In any arbitration proceeding initiated under this section, the sole issue before the arbitrator shall be whether such member is entitled to a designation of extraordinary circumstances for purposes of calculating such member's disability retirement income. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding on all parties and shall not be subject to appeal under any provision of the general statutes or under any collectively bargained agreement.

(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the amount of compensation due any member of a correctional institution pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of section 5-142, as amended, or chapter 568.

(e) The provisions of this section are applicable to disabilities occurring on or after March 1, 1993.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either House thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

The bill expands eligibility for increased disability retirements to corrections officers disabled on or after 3/1/93. According to information provided by the State Comptroller, there have been 249 corrections officers with service connected disability retirements from March 1993 to 2005. The cost to the State Employees Retirement System (SERS) and the subsequent impact on the state's contribution to SERS is a function of the number of cases that are designated extraordinary circumstances and the associated pay grade increases used in the benefit calculations. The actual impact to SERS and the state's contribution must be calculated by the SERS actuary and is not available at this time.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.



OLR Bill Analysis

sHB 5798

AN ACT CONCERNING DISABILITY RETIREMENT FOR CORRECTION OFFICERS.

SUMMARY:

This bill makes the law that provides extraordinary disability retirement benefits for correction officers retroactive to disabilities occurring on or after March 1, 1993. The additional benefit gives a correction officer eligible for disability retirement an increase in his benefit if the disability is considered to have created an extraordinary circumstance for him.

By law, the designation bases the disability retirement benefit on the highest pay grade of the member's bargaining unit regardless of the pay grade the member held at the time of the disabling incident. This increases the benefit for any employee who is not at the highest pay grade because pay grade is a factor in calculating a disability retirement.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Upon passage

BACKGROUND

PA 05-284

This act created the extraordinary disability retirement benefit for correction officers, modeled after a similar provision for state police officers in the police union contract.

To qualify, the disability must be the result of a “special hazard inherent in the duties of a correction officer,” and the employee must be permanently (1) disabled or unable to render service as a correction officer and (2) unable to engage in other suitable, comparable employment.

By law, the correction officers union, at its discretion, can petition the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) on behalf of an employee seeking to have the employees disability designated as an “extraordinary circumstances” disability. If OPM does not approve, the union can bring the issue to binding arbitration with the State Board of Mediation and Arbitration.

Retirement Benefits and Collective Bargaining

State employee pensions are a mandatory subject for collective bargaining and, by law, state employee contract provisions supersede contrary provisions of state law (CGS § 5-278(e)). Because the current pension contract is in force July 1, 2017, any changes in the law technically should not take effect before that date without the consent of the State Employees Bargaining Agents Coalition (SEBAC). Despite this, the legislature occasionally enacts legislation, such as with the 2003 Early Retirement Incentive Program, without first negotiating with SEBAC.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Labor and Public Employees Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute Change of Reference

Appropriations Committee

Joint Favorable