An Act To Amend Provisions Limiting the Return to Work after Retirement by Teachers, School Employees and State Employees
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §17859, as amended by PL 2011, c. 420, Pt. L, §1, is further amended to read:
§ 17859. Retiring and returning to work
1. Restoration to service. Any state employee or teacher school administrator who has reached normal retirement age and who retires after September 1, 2011 may be restored to service for up to 5 years. The decision to hire a retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator under this section is at the discretion of the appointing authority. The retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator must have had a bona fide termination of employment in accordance with state and federal laws and rules, may not return to employment after retirement with the same employer for at least 30 calendar days after the termination of employment and may not return to employment before the effective date of the person's retirement. For the purposes of this section, "school administrator" means a superintendent as defined in Title 20-A, section 1, subsection 39 or a principal as defined in Title 20-A, section 1, subsection 21.
2. Compensation and benefits. The compensation and benefits of the retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator who returns to service after retirement as set out in subsection 1 is governed by this subsection.
A. The compensation of the retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator who returns to service must be set at 75% of the compensation established for the position to be filled, at a step determined by the appointing authority.
B. The retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator who returns to service under this section is not a member and therefore may not accrue additional creditable service or change the retired state employee's or retired teacher's school administrator's earnable compensation for benefit calculation purposes.
C. During the period of reemployment, the retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator is not entitled to health insurance, dental insurance or life insurance benefits. The retired state employee or retired teacher school administrator is entitled to all other benefits for the reemployment position under collective bargaining agreements or civil service laws and rules. Health insurance benefits must be provided under the provisions of section 285, subsection 1-A for retired state employees or Title 20-A, section 13451 for retired teachers school administrators and life insurance benefits must be provided under the provisions of section 18055.
3. Contributions to the Maine Public Employees Retirement System and state group health plan. The portion of the employer contribution that goes to pay the retirement system for the unfunded liability and the state group health plan for retiree health care must be continued and based on the retired state employee's or retired teacher's school administrator's compensation as provided under subsection 2 during the reemployment period.
4. Notification requirements. Employers under this section are required to identify and report to the retirement system, in the manner specified by the retirement system, each individual who is a retiree who becomes an employee of the employer under the option provided in this section. Departments shall also report each retiree who becomes an employee to the Bureau of the Budget in a manner specified by the bureau. The employer shall report each such employee whenever and so long as the employee is the employer's employee.
5. Exclusion. A retired state employee or retired teacher who is hired as a substitute teacher is not subject to the restoration to service 5-year limitation in subsection 1 or the compensation limitation in subsection 2, paragraph A.
summary
This bill provides that limitations on conditions of restoration to service after retirement enacted in 2011 apply only to school superintendents and principals, not to state employees or teachers.