Union leader’s police cannot

Gerry Serano wanted to keep everything.

Former Santa Ana’s cop fits nearly $ 300,000 a year while leading the City Union of Police officers, a sum, based on what he won in previous years as a longtime police detective.

In the last five years, he has been fighting in court and in the State Pension Council to have all these compensation to count on his retirement income, including pay, originating from the advantages of specific law enforcement tasks, which he does not actually fulfill while he was the leader of the Union. He lost last week.

The Fourth Court of Appeal has ruled that Serano cannot count on his pension Perx for a job he did not do while on vacation as a labor representative. This meant that they refer to his incentives for a pension formula, which were originally related to his overtime, bilingual pay, holidays and the same allowance.

Beyond its effect on Serrano, the solution may influence the decisions of other California employees whether to relax in the Union.

Serrano claims that the California Law requires government agencies to authorize union leave. “without loss of compensation or other benefits“For certain representatives of labor and the fact that the haircut of his retirement income is contrary to this Statute.

“All these rules and laws and provisions are adopted to promote positive work relationships and make the process work. Well, it won’t work if you have no one to run the Union if they are going to reduce mass pay, “said Lina Balciunas Cockrellwho represented Serano in the Court of Appeal.

The leaders in the State Pension Fund praised the decision. She confirmed the previous decisions of Administrative judgeThe Council of the Pension System for the retirement of public officials in California and the Judge of the Supreme Court in Sacramento.

“This decision confirms Calpers’ position that the special additional bonuses for paying Ship pens will not be tolerated. This decision will have consequences for such cases related to public officials who decide to take a leadership role leave in associations, “said Kalper -General Matthew Jacobs in a written statement.

Serrano will still earn a well -lived retirement. He retired in 2023 and won $ 14,810 a month – almost $ 178,000 a year – through his pension at Kalper last year, according to the retirement system.

He has been a great presence in Santa Anna’s policy for years. The Union under his leadership I tried to recall council members which opposed the increase in pay and the benefits of the cops, according to the coverage in the voice of approx. When he retires, Orange County Register He published an editorial that told him a “good cut”.

Serreno told a judge for administrative law in 2021 that he believes that a former member of the council with whom there is a “political differences” has set his package for paying Kalper, which has caused a detailed review of what kind of income can be taken to his pension.

An employee of Kalper focuses on a memorandum of understanding that describes in detail how Serreno would be paid when he became the leader of the Union in 2016. The formula included his basic salary, several differences in pay, which he won as a veteran detective, and a special payment that was calculated to compensate for an extraordinary time.

The package has actually increased its pay according to records which have been published in Transparent CaliforniaA website that collects and publishes salaries and pensions from government agencies in California.

Serano won around $ 167,000 in 2015 before becoming a Union leader. His salaries increased to $ 233,000 in 2017, his first full year as a labor representative. Serrano’s Pay rose to $ 290,000 in 2019 and 2020.

But the Union’s work ultimately did not pay off for Serrano’s retirement.

Calpers, which provides pension and health benefits for workers in nearly 3,000 government agencies in California, has determined that Serrano’s income on the basis of the differences in pay for police work, which he does not fulfill as a leader of the Union, cannot be applied to his pension.

The most important thing is that he concluded the special compensation related to his previous overtime revenue also would not apply to his pensionS This is because overtime pay cannot be retired under state legislation.

The case in the Court of Appeal focused on the pay that his memorandum of understanding related to the lost overtime work, which his lawyers claim is actually intended to compensate for him for increased responsibilities on sensitive issues. The Court of Appeal rejected this reasoning.

Labor lawyer Balciunas Cockrell said the memorandum of understanding could serve as a “warning tale” for other unions of public officials in California. In the future, trade unions who want to pay a labor representative for additional work obligations can avoid the connection of this compensation in any way for overtime.

“The position is obviously a sensitive position that requires trust and discretion,” she said, describing responsibilities that include discipline, healthcare and compensation. “This should be the easy part. The question is how you calculate it in a way that does not isolate the Union President to give benefits that is not proportional to other leadership positions. ”