Baker v. San Mateo County Employees Retirement Assn.

Filed 9/5/25 CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

CATHERINE BAKER, Petitioner, v. A171350 SAN MATEO COUNTY EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT (San Mateo County ASSOCIATION, Super. Ct. No. 24-CIV-00495) Respondent.

Petitioner Catherine Baker worked for San Mateo County, went on medical leave in 2009, and then returned to a different position in 2015 and 2016 at the same pay rate before filing for disability retirement. Respondent San Mateo County Employees Retirement Association (SamCERA) determined the effective date of her retirement benefits to be in 2016, on the last day she received “regular compensation” pursuant to Government Code section 31724.1 Baker petitioned for a writ of mandate, asserting that the pay she received in 2015 and 2016 was not “regular compensation” under the statute because she had not returned to her original job position. The trial court concluded otherwise, and denied the writ. On appeal, Baker argues that the trial court erred in its interpretation of the term “regular compensation” in section 31724. We disagree and affirm.

1 Undesignated statutory references are to the Government Code.

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I. BACKGROUND Baker was employed by San Mateo County as a Social Worker III starting in 2006. The position involved lifting and holding children, standing, and driving. After reporting back pain that prevented her from performing this work, Baker went on medical leave in 2009. She was on leave until 2015. Baker then returned as a “screener trainee,” which involved on-site trainings and computer work. She was compensated for this position at the same pay rate as her original Social Worker III position, and her last paycheck was issued on January 21, 2016. In 2017, Baker submitted a “service-connected” disability retirement application. Two years later, SamCERA recommended to the Board of Retirement (Board) that Baker’s application be granted. It also recommended that, pursuant to section 31724, the effective date of her retirement benefits be deemed to be January 22, 2016. Section 31724 is a provision of the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937 (CERL) (§ 31450 et seq.) that establishes the effective date of disability retirement benefits. (Katosh v. Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association (2008) 163 Cal. App.4th 56, 59 (Katosh).) It provides, in relevant part, that “disability retirement allowance shall be effective as of the date such application is filed with the board, but not earlier than the day following the last day for which [the member] received regular compensation.” (§ 31724.) And “[w]hen it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the board that the filing of the member’s application was delayed by administrative oversight or by inability to ascertain the permanency of the member’s incapacity until after the date following the day for which the member last received regular compensation, such date will be deemed to be the date the application was filed.” (Ibid.) Here, SamCERA