CalPERS doesn’t have to release names of retirees with disability pensions after ruling

An appeal court issued a decision this week that will keep information on CalPERS disability pensions private unless the state Supreme Court gets involved.

Robert Fellner, executive director of Transparent California, a website that publishes public salaries and pension information, said the organization plans to make another pass at making pension statuses public after a Monday dismissal by the Third District Court of Appeal.

Fellner’s organization sued CalPERS in 2018 after the pension fund declined a California Public Records Act request for information on disability pensions, which allow public employees to retire early for medical reasons. Industrial disability pensions, which are for on-the-job injuries, are partially tax-exempt.

CalPERS argued the information should be treated like medical records and remain private.

The Sacramento County Superior Court sided with CalPERS in November 2019.

Transparent California, under parent organization the Nevada Policy and Research Institute, appealed the ruling in January 2020, but filed it too late, Fellner said.

He said the organization didn’t realize California’s public records law provides expedited appeals, and it missed the deadline under the quicker process.

The appellate court decision describes the lower court’s order as non-appealable, but Fellner said the organization plans to ask the Supreme Court for a review.

“We hope the California Supreme Court vindicates our rights and makes sure this comes to a resolution,” he said.

Fellner said the organization filed the lawsuit after learning about disability pension abuses among police and firefighters in a Los Angeles Times story published in 2018.

Several public employee unions joined CalPERS’ defense in the lawsuit.

Gary Messing, an attorney representing the defendants, said disclosing whether public retirees are receiving disability pensions wouldn’t help determine whether or not the pensions are fraudulent.

“Just because somebody has a disability retirement doesn’t mean anything unless you know the medical reasons for it, and those medical reasons are going to be confidential,” he said.

This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 9:23 AM with the headline "CalPERS doesn’t have to release names of retirees with disability pensions after ruling."