Chapter 3 – Personnel, Training, and Employee Relations

31060.6.2 Retired Annuitant Appointments

• A retired annuitant is a person who has retired from:

  • State service and is appointed to a civil service position and paid a salary without being reinstated from retirement; or

  • A Career Executive Assignment (CEACareer Executive Assignment) position and is temporarily employed and paid a salary following retirement.

• Class – A retired annuitant shall be appointed to a position in a class in which the person had permanent or probationary status or a CEACareer Executive Assignment appointment at the time of retirement or in a class to which the person could have permanently transferred, reinstated, or demoted at the time of retirement.

• Duration – Retired annuitants are appointed for a limited duration, not to exceed 960 total hours in a fiscal year. Retired annuitants must be evaluated each fiscal year and require annual approval by the Office of the Secretary or designee.

• Salary – Retired annuitants are paid at a rate substantially the same as other employees performing comparable duties

• Benefits – Retired annuitants are compensated only for actual time worked and shall not earn benefits of any kind (e.g., sick leave, vacation, holiday pay, personal holiday, or retirement credits).

• Impact of a retired annuitant working over the 960-hour work cap in a fiscal year – A retired annuitant who works more than 960 hours in a fiscal year is subject to mandatory reinstatement to state service, reimbursements to California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and potentially other earned entitlements and benefits, unless authorized by the Governor during a state of emergency.

• Nature of Work – Retired annuitants may be appointed for a limited duration:

  • On a short-term basis to cover emergency-related work.

  • To use their special skills.

  • To provide mentoring to staff, and/or knowledge transfer.

  • To temporarily fill a hard-to-recruit vacancy behind an employee on extended absence.

  • To complete a one-time workload or projects associated with policy change or to gain compliance with court orders.

• Eligibility – To be eligible for employment as a retired annuitant, the following requirements must be met:

  • The Bona Fide Separation Requirement/Normal Retirement Age (if applicable):

    • A service-retired employee of the State of California who has not yet reached “normal retirement age” must have a minimum 60 calendar-day separation from service prior to returning to employment as a retired annuitant. The definition of “normal retirement age” is the member’s benefits formula age, or, if the member retires with more than one benefit formula, the highest specified age. There must be no agreement made (either verbal or written) with an employee to return to employment as a retired annuitant prior to retirement if they have not attained “normal retirement age” as defined above.

  • The 180-Day Wait Period Requirement:

    • A retired person shall not be eligible for employment as a retired annuitant for a period of 180-calendar days after the date of retirement unless the appointment is necessary to fill a critically needed function and California Department of Human Resources (CalHRCalifornia Department of Human Resources (formerly DPA and SPB)) approval has been obtained. The 180-day waiting period does not apply to a retired peace officer or a retired firefighter returning as either a peace officer or firefighter.

    • Definition of Critical Need: An immediate need for a particular skill set that only the retired annuitant can provide to complete a function for the department to meet one of the requirements outlined below and that cannot be met by a current State employee:

      • Legislative Mandate

      • Court Ordered Mandate

      • Health and Safety Emergencies

      • Fiscal Impact – Loss of Funding

      • Any disruption in normal business that may result in the failure of business operations

  • Note: The bona fide separation requirement does apply to peace officers or firefighters who have not reached normal retirement age. Appointments to other classifications would meet the bona fide separation requirement while serving the 180-day wait period requirement since these periods run concurrently.

• Approval – To be approved for employment as a retired annuitant, the following requirements must be met:

  • A new retired annuitant appointment (not including annual renewals) requires prior approval documented on the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Form 1823, Retired Annuitant Hiring Approval, as follows:

    • Correctional Officer (CO) Academy: Director, Administrative Services

    • Special Projects/Skills: Secretary

    • Mentoring/Knowledge Transfer: Secretary

    • Operational Vacancies: Secretary

    • Posted Positions (Adult Institutions): Director, Division of Adult Institutions

    • Parole Agents with caseload: Director, Division of Adult Parole Operations

    • All other Division of Adult Parole Operations’ positions: Secretary

    • All Health Care: CCHCS Undersecretary

  • Former employees who are named as a defendant or identified as a percipient witness in department-related lawsuits shall not be appointed as a retired annuitant to compensate the employee for their cooperation.

  • A statement of justification is required for all retired annuitant appointment requests and must include start date (for extension, this date is the date the employee was first appointed into the position), end date, duty statement and organizational chart. Retired annuitants cannot be appointed into a supervisory classification unless serving in a specialist capacity.

  • Extension requests for retired annuitants that have expiration dates within the same fiscal year must document the number of hours the employee has worked.

  • The hiring authority is required to verify if the individual has prior or pending adverse actions, legal actions, or was the subject of an investigation. For CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, contact the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Office of Legal Affairs and the Office of Internal Affairs. For CCHCS, contact the CCHCS Office of Legal Affairs and the Health Care Employee Relations Officer. If any of the aforementioned is found, a summary of the information is to be attached to the CDCRCalifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Form 1823, Retired Annuitant Hiring Approval that includes a detailed justification.