(a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares its intent to preserve and protect the rights of reemployed participants who have been absent from a position of employment covered by the Cash Balance Benefit Program to serve in the uniformed services of the United States in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (Chapter 43 (commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code).

(b) The plan shall comply with Chapter 43 (commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code, as that chapter may be amended from time to time.

(c) The term “service in the uniformed services,” for purposes of determining plan vesting, eligibility for membership, and accrual of benefits, means the performance of duty on a voluntary or involuntary basis in a uniformed service under competent authority and includes active duty, active duty for training, initial active duty for training, inactive duty training, a period for which a participant is absent from a position of employment for the purpose of an examination to determine the fitness of the participant to perform any such duty, and the period of time following the actual service in the uniformed service through the last day a member is eligible to report back to work or to apply for reemployment as specified under Section 1002.259 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(d) The term “uniformed services” means the Armed Forces of the United States of America, the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard when engaged in active duty for training, inactive duty training, or full-time National Guard duty, the commissioned corps of the United States Public Health Service, and any other category of persons designated by the President in time of war or emergency.

(e) No entitlement of the right to contribute toward credits under the Cash Balance Benefit Program pursuant to this chapter by the participant as a result of service in the uniformed services shall accrue if the participant does not return to employment with the same employer or employers which employed the participant immediately prior to the eligible period of service in the uniformed services as prescribed in Chapter 43 (commencing with Section 4301) of Title 38 of the United States Code.

(Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 218, Sec. 46. (SB 1352) Effective January 1, 2017.)