LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A union leader Monday continued to raise concerns over a Los Angeles city policy that allows some employees to "double dip" by collecting a pension and then starting a new position at the Department of Water and Power with a higher-than-average salary.
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Guz Corona, business manager and head of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 18, which represents nearly all DWP workers, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the city last week. He warned the city's recent actions threaten the solvency of the Water and Power Employees Retirement System, and violates the City Charter.
According to Corona, there are four to six city employees that retired from a Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System position, then took a new salaried job with DWP, which has a separate pension system.
In 1937, the City Charter established LACERS as a retirement trust fund and outlined a defined benefit retirement plan. Starting in 1999, LACERS began administering the retiree health insurance program.
All regular, full-time, and certified part-time city employees are eligible for LACERS membership except employees of the DWP and sworn personnel of the Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions, according to the city's website.
Guzman alleges the City Attorney's Office has "unilaterally changed its interpretation" of the City Charter, allowing workers to "double dip" despite the ban against employees who benefit from LACERS to take another paid job with the city.
Back in 2005, the then-City Attorney's Office issued an opinion that employees working at DWP with LACERS benefits should be terminated from the department, he added.
A spokesperson for the City Attorney's Office confirmed they received IBEW's letter and will be responding in writing. Corona said they have not yet received communication.
"Under the City Charter, the hard-working employees of the Department of Water and Power have, for more than 80 years, been able to retire, collect a pension, and then seek further employment with the city in LACERS- covered positions," Ivor Pine, deputy director of communications for the City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto, said in a statement.
Pine described this practice as "decades-old" and "not unlawful," calling it a common occurrence across government employment.
"The city and the city's workforce benefit from having a broad pool of experienced workers to address the city's many complex operational challenges, like homelessness, emergency response, and resiliency," Pine said. "Just as DWP retirees have done for decades in other city positions, LACERS retirees can play a key role by bringing their expertise to positions with DWP."
Corona pushed back on the city's position. He noted that if DWP workers, who are retired and benefit from the DWP pension plan, want to work on the city-side, they take a six-month break in service. Essentially, they start as new employees and come in at the lower salary, and must work some years before being eligible for the next salary step.
On the other hand, Corona said LACERS retirees can get hired with DWP and start at the higher salary step, using their city time to qualify for it. City Charter requires that anything that changes the benefits must be made public and the city must provide public notice, Corona added.
If the city continues hold its decision, Corona said it will create an inequitable situation and burden taxpayers.
IBEW Local 18 also filed an unfair employee relations practice charging the city's leadership with failing to provide the union with advance notice and opportunity to meet and confer before implementing the city's revised application of the charter.
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