Monroe v. Cal. Public Employees' Retirement System

Filed 2/18/26; Certified for Publication 3/11/26 (order attached)

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO RANDY MONROE, B345865

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. v. 24PSCP00069)

CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, James C. Chalfant, Judge. Affirmed. Larry Watkins for Plaintiff and Appellant. Renee Salazar and Preet Kaur for Defendant and Respondent.

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While under investigation for on-duty misconduct, parole agent Randy Monroe (Monroe) applied for service retirement, pending a claim for disability retirement. His application was accepted, and he was thereafter found ineligible for disability retirement because his departure was not related to a disability and occurred while he was under investigation for misconduct. The CalPERS Board of Administration affirmed the denial of his application because a prerequisite for disability retirement was lacking: the right to return to service. Monroe petitioned for a writ of mandate to reverse the Board’s decision, which the trial court denied. We agree with the Board and the trial court, and therefore affirm. BACKGROUND 1. Facts Monroe was a parole agent with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) between 2011 and 2022. In 2021, he was informed that he was being investigated for misconduct related to his romantic involvement with a family member of a parolee he supervised. On August 10, 2021, Monroe contacted CalPERS about disability retirement. The next day, he was served with a notice that he would be interviewed about the alleged misconduct. That interview took place on August 31, 2021. On March 3, 2022, CalPERS received Monroe’s application for service retirement pending disability retirement. Monroe claimed disability of “neck, bilateral upper extremities” from “cumulative occupational trauma.” On March 10, 2022, CalPERS processed Monroe’s service retirement application, rendering him retired as of March 1, 2022. On March 23, 2022, Monroe was issued a notice of adverse action (NOAA) stating he was going to be dismissed as a parole agent effective April 1, 2022, based on misconduct including inexcusable neglect of duty, dishonesty, and misuse of state property. Monroe requested and