§163. Credit for involuntary furlough; credit for leave without pay

A.(1) Any member of a state or statewide public retirement system who is involuntarily furloughed without pay due to the temporary closure of his employer or involuntarily furloughed or placed on leave without pay due to a gubernatorially declared disaster or emergency shall be entitled to purchase service and salary credit for each day of service that he was furloughed or on such leave if such service was not credited to his account. There shall be no duplication of credit under the provisions of this Section.

(2)(a) Any member of a state or statewide public retirement system who is involuntarily furloughed without pay or placed on leave without pay on or after August 29, 2005, due to a gubernatorially declared disaster or emergency shall be entitled to purchase service and salary credit for each day of service during the period beginning on August 29, 2005, and ending on June 30, 2006, that he was furloughed or on such leave if such service was not credited to his account.

(b) There shall be no duplication of credit under the provisions of this Section.

(c) Any service and salary credit purchased pursuant to this Paragraph shall be subject to the following conditions and limitations:

(i) The purchased service and salary credit may not be used for the purpose of meeting the minimum service requirements for disability retirement.

(ii) Compensation on which the required contributions for purchase of service and salary credit are based shall be the rate of compensation in effect for the last full pay period ending on or before August 29, 2005.

(iii) The right to purchase service and salary credit pursuant to this Paragraph shall not apply to routine personnel actions or separations which are not the direct result of a gubernatorially declared disaster or emergency.

(iv) Any dispute arising under the limitations of this Paragraph shall be resolved in the sole and exclusive discretion of the board of trustees of the retirement system.

(d) The board of trustees of each state and statewide retirement system may adopt rules to implement the provisions of this Paragraph and Paragraph (C)(2) of this Section.

(e) All payment for service purchased pursuant to this Paragraph shall be remitted to the system on or before December 31, 2006.

B. Any member of the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System who is placed on or who voluntarily takes leave without pay shall be entitled to purchase service for credit for each day that he was on leave without pay, provided there is no duplication of service credit created by such purchase.

C.(1) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, any purchase of credit made pursuant to this Section shall be made by paying to the system an amount sufficient to offset any liability to the system, calculated on an actuarial basis in accordance with R.S. 11:158.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a member who purchases service and salary credit pursuant to Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section shall pay to the system or to his employer the employee and employer contributions which would be remitted to the system by his employer if not for the involuntary furlough or leave without pay. Such contributions, if paid to the employer, shall be remitted by the employer to the system. The member shall remit the contributions in either of the following ways:

(a) At the same time and in the same amount as such contributions would be due to the system if paid by the employer. Should the employee be delinquent in remitting such contributions, his delinquent payment shall be treated in the same manner as a delinquent payment from the employer pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 11:281; however, any such contributions from a member which would have been due before December 6, 2005 shall be considered to have been made timely if received by the system on or before the date on which contributions for service and salary credit for December 2005 are due.

(b) In a lump sum payment within thirty days of the member's return to work; however, any payment made pursuant to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall be remitted to the system on or before December 31, 2006. A delinquent payment shall be treated in the same manner as a delinquent payment from the employer pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 11:281.

Acts 1992, No. 209, §1; Acts 2003, No. 866, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 45, §1, eff. Dec. 6, 2005.

NOTE: See Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 45, §2, relative to retroactive application.