C.A. 6th;
H041400

The Sixth Appellate District affirmed trial court judgments. The court held a longevity performance stipend paid to qualifying county employees was not an item of special compensation that needed to be reported to the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and included in the calculation of the employees' retirement benefits.

The memorandum of understanding between the County of Monterey and the Monterey County Deputy Sheriffs Association provided for members of the association to be eligible to receive a longevity performance stipend upon achieving 20 years of service with a performance rating of either satisfactory or outstanding. Members of the association filed suit against the county and CalPERS, seeking to compel the County to report the longevity performance stipend to CalPERS as an item of special compensation and to compel CalPERS to include the longevity performance stipend in calculating their retirement benefits.