ABOUT LACERA

DISABILITY PROCEDURES & SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES - 5-6-09

MEMBERSHIP

• James P. Harris, Chair
• Yves Chery, Vice Chair
• Sadonya Antebi
• Ed C. Morris
• Simon S. Russin, Alternate

MEMBERS AT LARGE

• Edward Blecksmith
• William Pryor
• Les Robbins

STAFF, ADVISORS, PARTICIPANTS

• Gregg Rademacher
• Janice Golden
• James Castranova
• Vincent Lim
• J. Patrick Joyce
• Steve Tallant
• Oliver Kuzma, M.D.
• Debbie Juul
• Richard Schlosser
• Laura Gonzalez
• Shari Altmark
• Darren Huey
• Jim Alvarez
• Tamara Caldwell
• Maisha Coulter
• Penelope Rodriguez
• Mercie Martinez
• Debbie Semnanian
• Nichelle Porter
• Kerri Wilson
• Anna Kwan
• Debra Martin
• Vicki Neely
• Andy Demetroulis

ATTORNEYS

• Allison Barrett
• Mark Singer

GUESTS

1. APPOINTMENT OF VOTING MEMBER(S) IN THE EVENT ONE OR MORE REGULAR COMMITTEE MEMBERS ARE ABSENT
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF April 1, 2009

   Ms. Antebi indicated that there was an error on the April 1, 2009, Disability Committee minutes. The record reflected Mr. Simon Frumkin as a “member at large” when in fact he was absent from the meeting. A motion was made by Mr. Chery and seconded by Miss Antebi to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of April 1, 2009, as amended.

   The motion passed unanimously.

3. FOR INFORMATION
   1. Manager’s Report

      Debbie Juul gave an update on the Hearing Officer Recruitment. Ms. Juul worked with Communications and Human Resources to post the Hearing Officer recruitment on LACERA’s website. The recruitment was advertisement with the following:

      • Daily Journal
      • State Bar of California Bar Journal
      • Los Angeles County Bar (legal career center network department posted the recruitment on their website)
      • Career Builders
      • The Alumni of UCLA, USC, Pepperdine, and Southwestern

      A total of 54 applications were received and the deadline for accepting applications is May 31, 2009

   1. Quarterly Statistics on cases received and processed

      Debbie Juul discussed the annual comparisons for the Safety and General Cases that are received and brought to the Board for a decision. There has been a drop in Safety cases over the years. The drop of cases has brought the Safety and General cases received and submitted before the Board to an even number. Ms. Juul also discussed the cases received and submitted to the Board on a quarterly basis. There was a slight increase in cases going to the Board because of the amount of cases received in the last couple of months. Over all, the cases that have been received and submitted to the Board have leveled out to the same amount of cases.

   2. Staff Facility Tour

      Mr. Richard Schlosser informed the Committee that the Men’s Central Jail Facility Tour is scheduled for July 15, 2009. Facility staff will be available to give the participants an overview of their duties and to answer any questions. The tour will begin 8:00 a.m. and last till about 12 noon. A Private Information Release form will be included in the Board members June 3, 2009, Committee Packet. Each participant is to complete a release form and return the form to Mr. Schlosser by June 22, 2009. The form will be used to run a background check by the Sheriff’s department.

4. ACTION ITEMS
   1. Consider the Application of Robert O. Ruder, M.D. as a LACERA Panel Physician

      The application of Robert O. Ruder, M.D., was presented to the Committee for review. A motion was made by Mr. Morris and seconded by Miss Antebi to accept staff’s recommendation and submit the application to the Board of Retirement for approval to the LACERA Panel of Examining Physicians.

      The motion passed unanimously.

    

   Renew Service Provider Agreements for:

   2. Private Investigative Services
   3. MMPI Testing Services
   4. Job Analysis Services
   5. Referee Services
   6. MRI & CAT Scan Services

      A motion was made by Miss Antebi and seconded by Mr. Chery on the staff recommendation.

      The motion passed unanimously.

   7. Renew Service Provider Agreements for Court Reporter Services

      A motion was made by Mr. Morris and seconded by Mr. Chery on the staff recommendation.

      The motion passed unanimously.

5. MISCELLANEOUS (Discussion)
   1. Miss Antebi questioned if the service provider MRI & CAT Scan Services provides open MRI’s and if an accommodation is provided for members who wish not to go through the MRI machine. Ms. Shari Altmark responded to Miss Antebi’s question and explained that LACERA has a contract with MIS a global organization throughout the state. MIS provides members with open MRI’s. A member is usually scheduled for an MRI with an office that is close to the member’s residence.
   2. Dr. Kuzma was inquiring on the fees charged for an MRI-EMG service and if the service provider has a good operation to perform an EMG. Ms. Altmark stated that all EMG’s are done by the assigned physician. The member will only be referred to MIS if their physician does not provide the MRI-EMG service.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
7. GOOD OF THE ORDER
8. ADJOURNMENT

The Board of Retirement has adopted a policy permitting any member of the Board to attend a standing committee meeting open to the public. In the event five or more members of the Board of Retirement (including members appointed to the Committee) are in attendance, the meeting shall constitute a joint meeting of the Committee and the Board of Retirement. Members of the Board of Retirement who are not members of the Committee may attend and participate in a meeting of a Board Committee but may not vote on any matter discussed at the meeting. The only action the Committee may take at the meeting is approval of a recommendation to take further action at a subsequent meeting of the Board.

Documents distributed to members of the Committee less than 72 hours prior to the meeting will be available for public inspection at LACERA at the time they are distributed to a majority of the Committee, provided the documents are subject to public disclosure and relate to an open session of the Committee. Such documents may be viewed Monday through Friday during normal 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. business hours. LACERA is located at 300 N. Lake Avenue, Suite 820, Pasadena, California.

Persons requiring an alternative format of this agenda pursuant to Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 may request one by calling Cynthia Guider at (626)-564-6000, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, but no later than 48 hours prior to the time the meeting is to commence. Assistive Listening Devices are available upon request. American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters are available with at least three (3) business days notice before the meeting date.

6/4/09