STATE EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT COMMISSION

LEGAL AND PERSONNEL SUBCOMMITTEE

MINUTES OF MEETING

October 14, 2015

TRUSTEES PRESENT

Peter Adomeit, Chair
Michael Carey
Charles Casella
Robert Coffey
Michael Rose, Counsel for the Commission

The Chair called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella to remove the Request by Disability Retiree for Advanced Decision on Part-time Employment from the Executive Session portion of the agenda and place it on the Public Session portion. All voted in favor.

At 9:15 a.m., Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Carey to amend the agenda as follows:

1. To remove the Request of Dr. Johnson from the Executive Session portion of the agenda and place it on the Public Session portion,
2. To add an update on pending litigation in the Brown matter,
3. To add a discussion of written legal advice on the Whitman matter,
4. To add a discussion of the written opinion on fiduciary obligations,
5. To add a discussion of the legal opinion in the Bellonio matter,
6. To add a discussion of the legal opinion regarding whether Boards of Education are separate employers,
7. To add a discussion of written legal advice regarding the Carter matter.

All voted in favor.

At 9:16 a.m., the subcommittee discussed Dr. Johnson's request to switch from the current actuarially-based SERS option tables to new tables which he proposed.

At 9:28 a.m., Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Coffey, to go into Executive Session to discuss items 2 through 7 above and invite Commission Counsel Michael Rose to participate in the discussions. All voted in favor.

The items discussed in Executive Session are as follows:

at 9:29 a.m., Brown update,

at 9:40 a.m., Whitman matter,

at 9:55 a.m., Opinion on fiduciary obligations,

at 10:10 a.m., Bellonio matter,

at 10:25 a.m., Opinion regarding boards of education,

at 10:45 a.m., Carter Matter.

At 11:00 a.m., Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Carey to come out of Executive Session. All voted in favor.

Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Carey, to amend the agenda to include discussions of the negotiations and terms of settlement in the Alston matter and the Zimmerlin FOI matter. All voted in favor.

At 11:02 a.m., Mr. Casella moved, seconded by Mr. Carey to go into Executive Session to discuss the Alston and Zimmerlin matters and to invite Attorney Rose to participate in the discussions. All voted in favor.

At 11:07 a.m., Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella, to come out of Executive Session. All voted in favor.

In Public Session, the subcommittee discussed the Request by a Disability Retiree for an Advance Decision on Part-time Employment. The Chair suggested that he advise the disability retiree that SERC cannot advise him on this matter until an action is taken by the Retirement Division and the retiree requests a review by SERC of the Division's action. The members of subcommittee agreed with this suggestion and no motion was made.

At 11:19 a.m., Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella, to recommend to the Commission that it deny the Whitman request for reconsideration. All voted in favor.

At 11:20 a.m., Mr. Carey moved, seconded by Mr. Casella, to recommend to the Commission that it deny Dr. Johnson's request. All voted in favor.

From 11:21 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. the meeting was in recess.

At 11:50 a.m., the subcommittee reviewed the responses of the following MERS retirees to the MERS Reemployment Survey, which indicated that they were employed with a municipality for days or hours per week in excess of statutory limits and who had declined the opportunity to meet with the subcommittee: Helms, Maturah, and Mauri. The subcommittee discussed the information it had received and decided to take no action until Counsel prepares recommendations regarding each employee.

At 12:14 p.m., Mr. Coffey moved, seconded by Mr. Carey to adjourn. All voted in favor. The meeting adjourned.

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