| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to reemployment after retirement; amending |
| 3 | s. 238.181, F.S.; authorizing district school boards to |
| 4 | reemploy certain retired teachers under certain |
| 5 | circumstances; deleting certain reemployment criteria and |
| 6 | limitations; providing legislative intent pertaining to |
| 7 | funding and implementation; providing for retroactive |
| 8 | applicability; providing an effective date. |
| 9 |
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| 10 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of section |
| 13 | 238.181, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 14 | 238.181 Reemployment after retirement; conditions and |
| 15 | limitations.-- |
| 16 | (2) |
| 17 | (c) Effective July 1, 2003, after a retired member has |
| 18 | been retired for 1 calendar month in accordance with s. |
| 19 | 121.021(39), a district school board may reemploy such a retired |
| 20 | member as a substitute or hourly teacher on a noncontractual |
| 21 | basis, or reemploy such retired member as instructional |
| 22 | personnel, as defined in s. 1012.01(2)(a), on an annual |
| 23 | contractual basis after he or she has been retired for 1 |
| 24 | calendar month, in accordance with s. 121.021(39). Any other |
| 25 | retired member who is reemployed within 1 calendar month after |
| 26 | retirement shall void his or her application for retirement |
| 27 | benefits. All retirees reemployed under this paragraph shall |
| 28 | become renewed members of the Florida Retirement System under s. |
| 29 | 121.122, and district school boards reemploying such retired |
| 30 | members as described herein teachers are subject to the |
| 31 | contributions as provided for renewed membership retirement |
| 32 | contribution required by paragraph (g). Reemployment of a |
| 33 | retired member as a substitute or hourly teacher is limited to |
| 34 | 780 hours during the first 12 months of his or her retirement. |
| 35 | Any retired member reemployed for more than 780 hours during his |
| 36 | or her first 12 months of retirement shall give timely notice in |
| 37 | writing to his or her employer and to the department of the date |
| 38 | he or she will exceed the limitation. The department shall |
| 39 | suspend his or her retirement benefits for the remainder of his |
| 40 | or her first 12 months of retirement. Any person employed in |
| 41 | violation of this paragraph and any employing agency which |
| 42 | knowingly employs or appoints such person without notifying the |
| 43 | department to suspend retirement benefits shall be jointly and |
| 44 | severally liable for reimbursement to the retirement trust fund |
| 45 | of any benefits paid during the reemployment limitation period. |
| 46 | To avoid liability, such employing agency shall have a written |
| 47 | statement from the retiree that he or she is not retired from a |
| 48 | state-administered retirement system. Any retirement benefits |
| 49 | received by a retired member while reemployed in excess of 780 |
| 50 | hours during his or her first 12 months of retirement shall be |
| 51 | repaid to the Retirement System Trust Fund, and his or her |
| 52 | retirement benefits shall remain suspended until repayment is |
| 53 | made. Benefits suspended beyond the end of the retired member's |
| 54 | first 12 months of retirement shall apply toward repayment of |
| 55 | benefits received in violation of the 780-hour reemployment |
| 56 | limitation. |
| 57 | Section 2. The Legislature finds that the potential costs |
| 58 | attributable to the modifications to the retirement laws by this |
| 59 | act affecting the reemployment of retired members of the |
| 60 | Teachers' Retirement System is minimal. The Legislature further |
| 61 | finds that such costs are adequately funded by the provisions of |
| 62 | section 9 of chapter 2003-260, Laws of Florida, which provided |
| 63 | funding for equivalent provisions allowing for postretirement |
| 64 | reemployment of retired members of the Florida Retirement |
| 65 | System. By giving these provisions retroactive effect, it is the |
| 66 | intent of the Legislature that retired members of such system |
| 67 | who may have relied in error on the provisions of section 2 of |
| 68 | chapter 2003-260, Laws of Florida, should be financially whole. |
| 69 | Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that any retiree |
| 70 | of the Teachers' Retirement System who was reemployed by a |
| 71 | district school board in reliance on section 2 of chapter 2003- |
| 72 | 260, Laws of Florida, and as a result was required to suspend or |
| 73 | repay benefits under s. 121.091(9)(b)2., Florida Statutes, will |
| 74 | receive a full refund for any such benefits suspended or |
| 75 | personally repaid between July 1, 2003, and the effective date |
| 76 | of this act, and that any employer held liable for such |
| 77 | repayment will receive a full refund for any such benefits paid |
| 78 | by the employer. |
| 79 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law |
| 80 | and shall apply retroactively to July 1, 2003. |