Article 2. Rights Of Employees Of Existing Facilities of California Public Utilities Code >> Division 11. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 2.

Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or utility, either in proceedings by eminent domain or otherwise and terminates the legal existence of the corporation or utility, and operates the facilities itself, to the extent necessary for operation of facilities, any of the employees whose duties pertain to the facilities acquired who have been employed by the corporation or utility, as the case may be, for at least 75 days shall be appointed to comparable positions by the board without examination. These employees shall be given sick leave, seniority, and vacation credits in accordance with the records of the corporation or other acquired utility, as the case may be. No employee of the former corporation or utility shall suffer any worsening of wages, seniority, pension, vacation, or other benefits as they exist at the time of and by reason of the acquisition. The board shall assume and observe all existing labor contracts of the former corporation or utility, as the case may be, insofar as they relate to the acquired facilities. This section applies only to those officers or supervisory employees of the former corporation or utility, as the case may be, as shall be designated by the board.

(a) Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or public utility, either in proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise, and terminates the corporation or operates the facilities itself, that has a pension plan in operation, the members and beneficiaries of the pension plan shall continue to have the rights, privileges, benefits, obligations, and status with respect to the plan. The board shall consider, and take into account, the outstanding obligations and liabilities of the corporation or of the publicly or privately owned public utility, as the case may be, by reason of the pension plan, and may negotiate an allowance in the purchase price of the corporation or the utility for the assumption of those obligations and liabilities when acquiring the corporation or the utility.
  (b) Instead of maintaining an existing pension plan applicable to bargaining unit employees of an acquired facility, the board, with the consent of any exclusive collective bargaining representative of employees of an acquired facility whose rights are protected by Section 120520, may enroll the employees in, or transfer them to, the Public Employees' Retirement System or another retirement system.
  (c) A contract to enroll employees in the Public Employees' Retirement System shall be subject to the provisions of Part 3 (commencing with Section 20000) of Division 5 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
  (d) Employees participating in an existing pension plan shall receive benefits immediately after enrollment in, or transfer to, the system that are at least equal to, or greater than, the benefits the employees would have been entitled to immediately before enrollment in, or transfer to, the system.

Whenever the board acquires ownership of existing facilities from a privately or publicly owned corporation or public utility, either in proceedings in eminent domain or otherwise and maintains the corporation or utility, by whatever name, as a separate, legal corporate entity, the board of directors of the corporation or utility shall continue its responsibilities with regard to its employees' wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, existing labor contracts, and existing pension plans.

(a) Any pension plan maintained by the board pursuant to this division for employees of the board who are members of a unit appropriate for collective bargaining shall be maintained pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement and this section.
  (b) The pension plan and the funds of the plan shall be managed and administered by a retirement board composed of equal representation of labor and management. Any deadlock among the members of the board with respect to that management and administration shall be resolved in the manner specified in Section 302 of the federal Labor Management Relations Act, 1947 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 186(c)(5)).
  (c) The duties and responsibilities of the retirement board shall be executed in accordance with Section 17 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.
  (d) This section does not apply if the board has, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement, provided membership for the board's represented employees in the Public Employees' Retirement System, a retirement system established pursuant to the County Employees Retirement Law of 1937, or a pension trust subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001 et seq.).