RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 298 (HB 15) 2020 Regular Session Coussan
Existing law provides generally that employees of municipalities are members of the
Municipal Employees' Retirement System of La. (MERS) and employees of parishes are
members of the Parochial Employees' Retirement System of La. (PERS). Provides that if the
governing authorities of a municipality and a parish consolidate into one government, those
employees who were members of MERS at the time of consolidation remain members of
MERS, but those hired after consolidation become members of PERS.
Existing law provides an exception for certain employees of the Lafayette Consolidated
Government; employees of a department created by the Lafayette home rule charter, except
the police and fire departments and including certain employees of the city court, who were
first employed on or after Nov. 1, 2010, become a member of MERS.
New law, applicable to the same departments of Lafayette government, provides that those
hired on or after Nov. 1, 2020, become members of PERS instead of MERS.
Existing law requires an employer that eliminates MERS-covered employment positions by
contracting for the work done by the employees in those positions to remit that portion of the
unfunded accrued liability (UAL) existing on June thirtieth immediately prior to the date of
privatization which is attributable to the eliminated positions.
New law requires that employers make such UAL payments for positions that are eliminated
for any reason. Provides exceptions relative to persons who are laid off and to eliminating
vacant positions.
New law requires MERS to notify all other La. retirement systems if an employer terminates
its agreement with MERS or eliminates MERS-covered employment positions. Further
requires that if that employer later enrolls employees in another retirement system, that
system shall notify MERS.
Effective Aug. 1, 2020.
(Amends R.S. 11:1733(F), 1753(C), and 1923(C))