2007 Minnesota Statutes

356.50 SERVICE AND SALARY CREDIT FROM BACK PAY AWARDS IN THE EVENT
OF WRONGFUL DISCHARGE; ANNUITY AND DISABILITY TREATMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Application. (a) A person who is wrongfully discharged from public
employment that gave rise to coverage by a public employee pension plan enumerated in section
356.30, subdivision 3, is entitled to obtain allowable service credit from the applicable public
employee pension plan for the applicable period caused by the wrongful discharge.
(b) A person is wrongfully discharged for purposes of this section if:
(1) the person has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, by an arbitrator
in binding arbitration, by the commissioner of veterans affairs, or by a board, commission, or
panel acting under section 197.46, whichever applies, to have been wrongfully discharged from
public employment;
(2) the person received an award of back pay with respect to that discharge; and
(3) the award does not include any amount for any lost or interrupted public pension plan
coverage.
    Subd. 2. Service credit procedure. (a) To obtain the public pension plan allowable service
credit, the eligible person under subdivision 1 shall pay the required member contribution amount.
The required member contribution amount is the member contribution rate or rates in effect for
the pension plan during the period of service covered by the back pay award, applied to the
unpaid gross salary amounts of the back pay award including unemployment insurance, workers'
compensation, or wages from other sources which reduced the back award. No contributions may
be made under this clause for compensation covered by a public pension plan listed in section
356.30, subdivision 3, for employment during the removal period. The person shall pay the
required member contribution amount within 60 days of the date of receipt of the back pay award
or within 60 days of a billing from the retirement fund, whichever is later.
(b) The public employer who wrongfully discharged the public employee must pay an
employer contribution on the back pay award. The employer contribution must be based on the
employer contribution rate or rates in effect for the pension plan during the period of service
covered by the back pay award, applied to the salary amount on which the member contribution
amount was determined under paragraph (a). Interest on both the required member and employer
contribution amount must be paid by the employer at the annual compound rate of 8.5 percent
per year, expressed monthly, between the date the contribution amount would have been paid to
the date of actual payment. The employer payment must be made within 30 days of the payment
under paragraph (a).
    Subd. 3. Employer reporting. The employer must report to the executive director of the
applicable pension plan that a person has been determined to be wrongfully discharged and the
employer must provide a copy of the written order or decision.
    Subd. 4. Annuity repayment. Notwithstanding subdivisions 1 and 2, if after being
discharged, the person commences receipt of an annuity from the applicable plan, and it is later
determined that the person was wrongfully discharged, the person shall repay the annuity received
in a lump sum within 60 days of receipt of the back pay award. If the annuity is not repaid, the
person is not entitled to reinstatement in the applicable plan as an active member, the person is not
authorized to make payments under subdivision 2, paragraph (a), and, for subsequent employment
with the employer, the person shall be treated as a reemployed annuitant.
    Subd. 5. Disability treatment. If a person is wrongfully discharged and before reinstatement
takes a refund of employee contributions under the applicable plan's refund provision and fails
to repay that refund, then not withstanding other law to the contrary, if the person applies for a
disability benefit and is approved for that benefit, the disability benefit amount must be computed
solely on the years of covered service provided after reinstatement, on the individual's salary for
benefit computation purposes, and on the applicable plan accrual rates, rather than receiving a
minimum disability benefit amount, if applicable, specified in plan law.
History: 1992 c 443 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 2002 c 392 art 11 s 39; 2004 c 206 s 52; 2006 c
271 art 3 s 41