New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 17 - TREASURY - GENERAL › Chapter 1 - GENERAL ADMINISTRATION › Subchapter 2 - ACCOUNTING › Section 17:1-2.18 - Service and salary credit: awards of back pay

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) When a member
				appeals the suspension or termination of the member's employment and through an
				award or settlement becomes entitled to full pay for all or a portion of that
				employment for the period of such suspension or termination, the member shall
				receive service credit for the period covered by the award or settlement, a
				full normal pension, and, if applicable, contributory group life insurance, as
				long as the contributory group life insurance contribution is received from the
				member or is deducted from the value of the award. The member must receive full
				back pay, including normal salary increases before mitigation and the
				contributions will be computed on the base salaries that the employee would
				have earned for the reinstated suspended or terminated period. In the event
				that the amount of back payment, after mitigation, is insufficient to deduct
				the value of the normal pension contributions and, if applicable, the
				contributory group life insurance due, such contribution shall be paid by the
				member to the respective retirement system by certified check or money
				order.
(b) If a member waives an
				award of back pay, then the member cannot receive service or salary credit for
				the period of the award.
(c) If the
				award or settlement is structured in such a way as to provide the member with a
				substantial increase of creditable salary at or near the end of the member's
				service, or a substantial increase in retirement benefits, or provides service
				credit that entitles a member to file for retirement benefits to which they
				would not otherwise have qualified, the award or settlement shall be reviewed
				by the Division. If the Division determines that the pension benefit was part
				of the negotiations for the award or settlement, or if the award or settlement
				includes extra compensation as defined by the various retirement systems, the
				Division shall determine the compensation and/or service credit to be used to
				calculate the retirement allowance, and the member shall have the pension
				contributions for the salaries based on the award refunded without
				interest.
(d) It is the
				responsibility of the certifying officer to provide to the Division a letter
				attesting to the base salary or salaries to be used to compute pension
				contributions and to provide a copy of the resolution or legal document and all
				details pertaining to a mitigated award of back pay. Any resolution or legal
				document submitted to the Division must be fully executed by all parties to the
				agreement.
(e) When necessary, the
				Division shall request all supporting documentation regarding the award or
				settlement agreement from the employer. The Division has the ability to request
				proof of mitigation from the member.
(f) For those defined contribution retirement
				programs administered by the Division, the member is not entitled to the
				employer contributions for the period of the award unless the member receives
				an award equal to full back pay pursuant to
				17:1-2.1 8.
(g) For those defined contribution retirement
				programs administered by the Division, the member is not entitled to investment
				gains or losses that the contribution would have been subject to had the member
				receiving the award of back pay been employed continuously during the period of
				the award.