NEWS

Supreme Court Pension Ruling Eliminates Ability to Purchase "Air Time" Service Credit – No Impact on California Rule

The California Supreme Court published a March 4, 2019 opinion in Cal FIRE Local 2881 v. CalPERS. The lawsuit challenged the portion of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) which eliminated the ability of state employees to purchase up to five years of additional CalPERS service credit, known as “air time.”

Although the Court’s decision upholds the portion of PEPRA which took away the opportunity to purchase air time service credit, the ruling is narrow in scope. The Court held the ability to purchase air time was not a constitutionally vested pension benefit protected by the contract clause. It is important to note this decision has no impact on those who purchased additional service credit prior to 2013.

Because the Court concluded the opportunity to purchase additional retirement service credit was not protected from impairment by the contract clause, its elimination does not implicate the State Constitution or the “California Rule.” Since 1955, the courts have held under the California Rule that once pension benefits are granted to a public employee, they are vested and cannot be modified for the duration of an employee’s career.

While this decision has no impact on the California Rule, two significant pension cases which may impact the California Rule remain pending before the State Supreme Court. ACSS previously filed a request that these cases be reviewed because of the lower court departure from precedent concerning vested pension rights. We are also working closely with the law firm handling these cases to ensure your vested pension interests and the California Rule are protected.

ACSS’ legislative efforts to preserve and protect members earned and promised pension benefits continue. ACSS is also part of Californians for Retirement Security, a coalition of more than 1.6 million public employees and retirees that seeks to educate the public, lawmakers, and the media regarding public employee pensions.

ACSS will continue to keep you apprised of important pension issues and inform you of actions taken to protect the interests of excluded state employees.

ACSS Board of Directors Elects New Statewide Officers

On January 19, ACSS held its first Board of Directors meeting for 2019 in San Jose. The first order of business was to fill vacancies on the ACSS Board of Directors and the Statewide Officers. Tina Allen was appointed for the position of Chapter 505 Board Member. Tina and Chapter 508 Secretary/Treasurer LaChelle Adams (elected during Delegate Assembly in July 2018) were sworn into office by reciting the Oath.

ACSS President Frank Ruffino and ACSS Executive Vice President Elnora Fretwell resigned from their Statewide Officer positions, which left two out of five vacancies for Statewide Officers. Frank Ruffino accepted a political position with State Treasurer Fiona Ma and Elnora Fretwell recently retired. At the January 19th Board of Directors meeting, VP of Governmental Affairs Todd D’Braunstein became the new ACSS President via no contest. Chapter 503 Board Member Suzanna Nye was elected as Executive Vice President. And Chapter 507 Board Member Reynold Roth was elected as VP of Governmental Affairs.

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2019-20 State Budget: Responsible, with Lots of Bold One-Time Investments

ACSS President Frank Ruffino Appointed to Deputy Treasurer for Fiona Ma

On January 7, 2019, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma appointed ACSS President Frank Ruffino as Deputy Treasurer of Pension and Benefits for the State Treasurer’s Office. He accepted the position and was sworn in during Fiona Ma’s inauguration ceremony as the 34th Treasurer of the State of California. Ma has been a supporter of ACSS for many years and understands the issues facing California State managers and supervisors and other excluded employees. In return, ACSS has endorsed Ma in her campaigns and we congratulate her in her new position as State Treasurer. Ruffino and Ma have continued to build a strong professional relationship and ACSS views Ruffino’s new position as a positive step.

ACSS Executive Director Rocco Paternoster comments, “Frank’s hard work, service and dedication to ACSS including holding multiple leadership positions, has been invaluable to the members. ACSS members have enjoyed many wins over the years of Frank’s service and wish to congratulate Frank on this amazing honor and achievement he is receiving in this new appointment.”

Ruffino said, “I am humbled, honored, grateful and proud that an ACSS member has been given this special opportunity by the Treasurer to serve the State of California.”

At the next ACSS Board Meeting on January 19th, 2019, an election for the vacancies created by the departure of the Executive Vice President and President will be held among the current Board of Directors members.  

Fiona Ma was guest speaker at an ACSS Board Meeting in January 2016. Pictured here with ACSS President Frank Ruffino.

Retroactive Salary Increases for Supervisors and Managers related to BU9 and Certain Supervisory and Managerial classes related to BU10

On December 12, 2018, the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) released Pay Letter 18-35 which covers supervisory and managerial engineers, along with certain supervisory and managerial scientist classifications.  While other supervisory and managerial employees received increases on July 1, 2018, these employees did not.

Effective retroactively to July 1, 2018, S09 and M09 Excluded Employees and certain S10 and M10  classifications will receive a General Salary Increase of 4.5 percent. According to the latest information from CalHR, it is expected that this salary adjustment will be reflected in the December pay warrants. The retroactive portion is expected to be processed separately by the State Controller’s Office reflecting five months of the retroactive salary increase.

Pay Letter 18-35 also includes new provisions for longevity pay for certain employees with 20 or more years of service and geographic pay for certain employees working in Bay Area counties. These new pay differentials are provided to supervisory and managerial engineers, but not to other excluded employees. ACSS immediately approached CalHR regarding interest in extending Longevity Pay and Geographic Pay to all excluded employees.

Membership Drive Winner Donates Prize to Camp Fire Victims, ACSS Matches

Red Cross Gold Country CEO Gary Strong
with ACSS President Frank Ruffino and
ACSS Member Outreach Coordinator Charlotte Hoar.

Every year during the fall, ACSS holds a Membership Drive to encourage excluded state employees to join ACSS with a chance to win a prize. This year, the Membership Drive was held from September 24th through November 2nd and the grand prize of a 65-inch LG Smart TV would be given to one new member.

Monica MacNicholl was selected at random as this year’s winner. Monica works as a Staff Services Manager at the California Department of Rehabilitation in Sacramento and she is now a member of ACSS Chapter 502. However, Monica did not want to keep the TV prize. Instead, she wanted to donate the monetary value of the prize to the Red Cross to go to the victims of the recent Camp Fire in Paradise, CA.

The value of the TV was $1,000. ACSS decided to match the donation to donate a total of $2,000 to the American Red Cross to help Camp Fire victims. ACSS President Frank Ruffino and Member Outreach Coordinator Charlotte Hoar visited the Red Cross office in Sacramento. They met with American Red Cross (Gold Country Region) CEO Gary Strong to deliver the check in person in Sacramento.

Approximately 50,000 people* have been displaced and 14,000 homes** have been destroyed in and around the town of Paradise due to the Camp Fire, the deadliest wildfire in California history that raged from November 8 through November 25th and scorched 153,000 acres. Several ACSS members were also affected by this devastating incident. ACSS is dedicated to serving members of the community by making this much-needed donation to the American Red Cross.

Frank Ruffino commented, “Monica's decision to donate her prize is a true example of an altruistic act, an unselfish concern for the welfare of others. We appreciate her for reminding all of us the spirit of giving shouldn’t be seasonal, but an everyday choice. As a result, ACSS matched her gift which provides Red Cross critically needed funds to help the victims of Camp Fire. It was a proud moment for all of us!” It is a small way that ACSS can help out the community, especially as we approach the holidays.

ACSS President Frank Ruffino hands a check to
American Red Cross Gold Country CEO Gary Strong.

*According to the LA Times
**According to CNN

CalHR Policy Update - Holiday Informal Time Off

CalHR has updated the Human Resources Manual. The policy has been updated to reflect Informal Time Off (ITO) for 2018. For most employees, the paid ITO this year will be either the business day before December 25 or January 1. Click here for more information.

ACSS Member Appreciation Meetings Coming Up!

Tis the season for ACSS Annual Member Appreciation Meetings and Dinners! Check the ACSS Events Calendar for YOUR local Chapter's meeting. Hope to see you there! 

• Tuesday December 4th - Chapter 504 at La Strada in American Canyon 
• Thursday December 6th - Chapter 505 at Peony Seafood Restaurant in Oakland
• Thursday December 6th - Chapter 508 at Angelina's Spaghetti House in Stockton
• Friday December 7th - Chapters 502 & 503 at DoubleTree Hilton in Sacramento **EVENT IS FULL**
• Friday December 7th - Chapter 512 at AJ Spurs in Grover Beach
• Tuesday December 11th - Chapter 512 at Marie Callender's in Ventura
• Thursday December 13th - Chapter 511 at Marie Callender's in Monterey Park
• Friday December 14th - Chapter 513 at Officine Buonaforchetta in San Diego

ACSS-Endorsed Candidates – 2018 General Election Results

ACSS Legislative Advocate, Ted Toppin, provides a summary of how well our ACSS-Endorsed Candidates fared in the recent General Election:

Election Day results were very positive for ACSS and ACSS-endorsed candidates. Overall, the ACSS candidate or ballot measure was successful in 99 of the 103 races that have been determined thus far. Six races are still too close to call.

Statewide Races
In races that were decided yesterday, seven out of 8 of ACSS’ endorsed candidates for statewide office – including gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom – were victorious. Newsom will be sworn in as the next Governor of California on January 7, 2019. Other winners were Xavier Becerra for Attorney General, Betty Yee for Controller, Fiona Ma for Treasurer, Alex Padilla for Secretary of State, Malia Cohen for BOE District 2, and Joel Anderson for BOE District 4. The races for Insurance Commissioner and Superintendent of Public Instruction are too close to call at this time. Unfortunately, ACSS-endorsed Senator Dr. Ed Hernandez was unsuccessful in his race for Lieutenant Governor.

Legislative Races
In legislative races, the ACSS-endorsed candidate prevailed in 92 and lost in 3 of the races in which ACSS took a position. Three Assembly seats and one Senate seat are still up in the air.

In the Assembly, the ACSS candidate won in 77 races and lost in 1. In contested open seat contests, ACSS was 4-1, including victories by Buffy Wicks (D-Berkeley) in AD 15, Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) in AD 30, James Ramos (D-Inland Empire) in AD 40, and Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Carlsbad) in AD 76.

In AD 38, ACSS-endorsed candidate Dante Acosta (R-Santa Clarita) is neck and neck with his opponent Christy Smith. With only 1% of votes separating them, it is too close to say who will come out on top. In AD 60, ACSS-endorsed Sabrina Cervantes (D- Corona) is essentially tied with her Republican challenger Bill Essayli. Similarly, ACSS candidate Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) holds only a narrow lead over Democrat Cottie Petrie-Norris in AD 74. The one unsuccessful ACSS-endorsed candidate was Josh Lowenthal (D-Huntington Beach) who was defeated in AD 72 by Republican Tyler Diep.

Of the 18 Senate races in which ACSS took a position, 15 candidates were victorious, 2 candidates lost, and one is still too close to call. In open seat races, ACSS was 2-1. ACSS-endorsed candidate Maria Elena Durazo (D-Los Angeles) was victorious in SD 24, as was Brian Jones (R-Santee) in SD 38. Mike Eng (D-Los Angeles) was defeated in the race for SD 22. ACSS-endorsed candidate Anna Caballero (D-Salinas) is holding on to a narrow 1% lead over her opponent in SD 12 with votes still to be counted. In SD 14, ACSS-endorsed Senator Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) was defeated by his Democratic challenger Melissa Hurtado.

Statewide Ballot Measures
The ACSS Board voted to oppose Proposition 6 (2017 Gas Tax Repeal Initiative), which failed on Election Day.

Click here for complete election results for ACSS-endorsed candidates. Open seat candidates are in bold.

Every Vote Counts! Election Day is Approaching…

Midterm Elections are coming up soon. Don’t forget to vote on or before November 6th. Every vote counts!

Vote By Mail
Early voting in the Midterm Election has begun. Your ballot should have arrived in your mailbox already. Make sure you fill out your ballot completely and mail it in or drop it off at a designated ballot drop off location on or before November 6th. The last day to register to vote is Monday October 22, 2018. Vote-by-mail ballot requests must be submitted by October 30, 2018.

Candidate Endorsements and the PAC
ACSS has done a thorough job researching, interviewing and supporting legislative candidates that are best-suited to benefit Excluded Employees. ACSS-Endorsed candidates can be found on our ACSS Political Program Candidate Endorsement page. If you would like to help candidates in your area, we have provided their contact website to make it easy for you. In addition, donating to the ACSS Political Action Committee (PAC) helps ensure that the right legislators are in office to support the issues that matter to you most, like:

• Salary compaction
• Pension protection
• Fair working conditions for supervisors, managers, and excluded State employees
• And more!

Your Vote Matters!
As we have seen over the years, elections are won or lost with just a few votes, so every single vote matters in this election. Also, you can take a look at the California 2018 Voter Guide for information on the propositions. YOUR VOTE MATTERS!