Motion by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

November 11, 1999

MOTION BY SUPERVISORS GLORIA MOLINA AND ZEV YAROSLAVSKY

Recently the Los Angeles County Employees' Retirement Association (LACERA) Board of Retirement granted a service-connected disability benefit to the widow of our late Sheriff Sherman Block. This action resulted a much larger survivor benefit than Mrs. Block would otherwise have received, as well as a large tax benefit.

When disability results in an increased pension benefit, those additional benefits are ultimately paid for by the County and the employees who contribute to LACERA. Disability retirement is a fair and honorable way to compensate employees who are legitimately unable to do their jobs. But to protect the integrity of LACERA for all employees, we should be sure that the rules governing disability retirement are not, and cannot be, exploited.

I, THEREFORE, MOVE that the Board of Supervisors instruct the Chief Administrative Officer, the County Counsel, and the Director of Personnel, in conjunction with the Chief Executive Officer of LACERA, to:

1. Review class specifications for safety members of LACERA to determine whether each physical classification is appropriate for all persons holding the same position, and recommend new classifications to reflect different duties, as warranted.

2. Review the feasibility and desirability of moving employees in arduous jobs into less physically demanding jobs after a certain period of time, or at a certain age, or both, so as to prevent disability resulting from continuous trauma.

3. Review applicable statutes, County policies and departmental policies which permit disability to be considered "service connected" based on injuries sustained in off-duty activities, and recommend appropriate changes.

4. Review workers' compensation concepts of "apportionment" in the context of disability retirement, report back to the Board on the feasibility and desirability of limiting benefits to the extent disability results from non-industrial causes, and recommend any necessary changes in statutes, County ordinances or policies to accomplish this goal.

5. Review the impact on LACERA of statutory presumptions with respect to disability and causation, and provide the Board with a report on the desirability of proposing State legislation that would allow statutory presumptions to be rebutted by other evidence.

6. Report back to the Board within 60 days.