Regular Session News #16: RTW bill receives Senate final passage
May 25, 2022
Yesterday, the Senate amended and passed House Bill 1021 (Rep. McFarland, DeVillier, Edmonds, Frieman, Harris, and Romero), which would make several changes to the 2010 Return-to-Work (RTW) Law as well as add new RTW provisions for retirees re-employed as adjunct nursing professors in postsecondary institutions. The amendments were technical in nature.House Bill 1021 proposes to:
- make permanent changes to K-12 employer advertising and posting requirements that must occur before filling critical shortage vacancies, as follows: (1) post a statement in postsecondary career development offices within 120 miles that the employer is soliciting applications for future employment of certified teachers; (2) advertise same at least once per month in the official journal of the employer’s governing authority; and (3) prominently list unfilled positions or positions filled by retirees on the employer’s or their governing authority’s website;
- allow non-disability retirees subject to the 2010 RTW Law, after a 12-month waiting period, to be directly re-employed without a suspension or reduction in retirement benefit through June 30, 2027, if: (1) the retiree is certified to teach mathematics, science, English language arts, or special education (excluding gifted/talented) and is re-employed to fill a position in the area of certification; or (2) the retiree is at least age 62 with 30 years of service and is re-employed to fill a vacancy created by maternity leave, military leave, sabbatical leave, or extended sick leave;
- provide that the 2010 RTW Law is applicable to those who retired on/before June 30, 2020, and the 2020 RTW Law is applicable to those who retired on or after July 1, 2020;
- allow retirees in the 2020 RTW Group who retired on/before June 30, 2020, to return to work under the 2010 RTW Law;
- authorize postsecondary employers to hire non-disability retirees, who retired on/before June 30, 2020, and meet certain criteria (retired 12 months, at least age 62, and have 30 years of service), as adjunct professors of nursing instruction where a critical shortage exists without a benefit suspension through June 30, 2027;
- require postsecondary employers to follow certain guidelines for certifying a critical shortage and posting critical shortage position vacancies as well as reporting certain information to TRSL;
- condition enactment of House Bill 1021 upon the passage of Senate Bill 377 (Sen. Peacock) of the 2022 Regular Legislative Session, which has now been sent to the governor for signature; and
- regardless of passage of Senate Bill 377, require the Louisiana Department of Education to conduct a study and make recommendations for policy changes, which address critical shortages at TRSL-participating and public non-participating schools without employing retirees.
Other news
House Concurrent Resolution 11 (Rep. M. Johnson) passed both chambers and has been signed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President. This resolution urges and requests state legislatures to ask Congress to review and eliminate or reduce the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) Social Security benefit reductions. It also requests that the Louisiana Attorney General explore legal action to restore benefits lost to the GPO and WEP. House Concurrent Resolution 11 will be enrolled with the Secretary of State.
You can view all meeting schedules and agendas on the Louisiana State Legislature website.
Visit the Legislation page of this website to see all legislation impacting the retirement system. Stay tuned for future updates.