ABOUT LACERA

DISABILITY PROCEDURES & SERVICES COMMITTEE MINUTES - 6-3-09

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
• Andy Demetroulis
• Darren Huey
• Jim Alvarez
• Tamara Caldwell
• Maisha Coulter
• Penelope Rodriguez
• Mercie Martinez
• Debbie Semnanian
• Nichelle Porter
• Kerri Wilson
• Anna Kwan
• Debra Martin
• Vicki Neely

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 May 6, 2009

   A motion was made by Miss Antebi and seconded by Mr. Chery to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of May 6, 2009.

   The motion passed unanimously.

3. FOR INFORMATION
   1. Manager’s Report Debbie Juul discussed the following topics with the Committee:
      1. Ms. Juul mentioned that the Disability Retirement Services and Retiree Health Care Divisions will be moving to the third floor. The move is schedule to take place on July 10-12, 2009.
      2. Ms. Juul gave an update on the Hearing Officer Recruitment. A total of 180 applications were received by the deadline. Each application will be screened for the qualifications that were listed in the announcement. When the screening process is complete a total of 15 to 25 finalists will be chosen to interview with the Ad-Hoc Committee. Interviews are scheduled to take place late July.
   2. Facility Tour Richard Schlosser discussed the upcoming Facility Tour. The tour is schedule for July 15, 2009, and will begin at 8:00 a.m. Each participant will need to complete and return a Private Information Release form by June 22, 2009, to Mr. Schlosser.
   3. Court of Appeal decision in Katosh v. Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association Mr. Jim Castranova discussed the Katosh decision and how it will impact the way LACERA determines the effective date of retirement.Mr. Castranova mentioned that the effective date of retirement for a member will be the date following the last date of sick pay or vacation pay taken. Mr. Stephen Gibbs discussed the differences between the Katosh case and Claims Processing current procedures. He stated that the compression method previously used will no longer be an option. The Disability Retirement Services Division will communicate the change to County departments’ Human Resources and Return to Work staff at their regularly scheduled training events and by including language defining the last day of compensation in the notice sent to applicants and their departments acknowledging receipt of a disability application.
   4. Guest Speaker – Robert M. Meth, M.D. Topic: Pulmonary Reactive Airway Dysfunction
4. ACTION ITEMS
   1. Amended Policy Statement Governing the Duties and Responsibilities of the Disability Litigation Office

      Mr. J. Patrick Joyce mentioned that the Policy Statement Governing the Duties and Responsibilities of the Disability Litigation Office will need to be amended to clarify that the Legal Office represents the Board of Retirement in all appellate matters involving disability retirements and service-connected death benefits before the courts.

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

      The motion passed.

5. MISCELLANEOUS (Discussion)
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.

8/6/09