California Public Safety Labor Blog: Court of Appeal: Firefighter's Standby Pay Not Pensionable

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Court of Appeal: Firefighter's Standby Pay Not Pensionable

In City of Pleasanton v. CalPERS (Nov. 29, 2012) 2012 WL 5984074, the Court of Appeal ruled "Standby Pay" does not count toward pension benefits. The firefighter at the center of the case worked a 40-hour workweek. However, he received 7.5% "Standby Pay" for being on call. At issue in the case was whether that 7.5% "Standby Pay" counts as pensionable earnings for his CalPERS retirement. The Fourth District found the "Standby Pay" was not pensionable because it was for services rendered outside of his normal working hours. The Court said the payments could not be construed as holiday pay, shift differential pay, training premium pay, management incentive pay or off-salary-schedule pay because the 7.5% “Standby Pay” did not meet any of the definitions contained in CalPERS Regulation 571.

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David E. Mastagni is a partner with Mastagni Holstedt who focuses on labor and employment law representation. He frequently lectures on POBR, FFBOR, critical incidents, and employee rights. Martindale-Hubble issued David the highest Peer Review Rating of “AV Preeminent” and was named to Super Lawyers.

Taylor Davies-Mahaffey is an Associate in the Labor & Employment Department of Mastagni Holstedt, A.P.C. She represents public safety employees in administrative and disciplinary investigations, hearings, critical incident investigations, and criminal defense matters. Prior to joining the firm, she was a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County.

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