Rome |
Code of Ordinances |
Part III. CODE |
Appendix A. GEORGIA MUNICIPAL EMPLOYEES BENEFIT SYSTEM |
Article IV. ELIGIBILITY, QUALIFICATION AND PARTICIPATION |
§ 6. Non-vested participant breaks in service.
Except as otherwise provided in the Adoption Agreement, this Section shall apply only to Participants who are Eligible Regular Employees. If a non-vested Participant experiences a break in Service, the Participant's Current Credited Service shall not include any Service rendered prior to the break in Service, unless the Participant returns to employment with the Adopting Employer and performs the lesser of: Service equal to the break in Service, or Service equal to one (1) year. The following limitations shall apply in administering the break in Service rule:
(a)
Absence of Less Than One (1) Year. If a Participant terminates employment with the Adopting Employer and returns to employment with the Adopting Employer within one (1) year after said termination, the Participant shall not be deemed to have incurred a break in Service. Except as otherwise required under this Section, however, the time he was absent shall not be taken into account for any purpose under the Plan.
(b)
Interim Employment with Another GMEBS Employer. If a Participant terminates employment with the Adopting Employer and returns to employment with the Adopting Employer after having spent the interim period in the continuous employment of another Employer in the GMEBS, he shall not be deemed to have incurred a break in Service. The time he was absent may be taken into account for purposes of determining whether the Participant has met the minimum Service requirements for vesting and retirement eligibility under the Adopting Employer's Plan, as provided by and subject to the provisions of Article IX, Section 5 concerning portability. However, in no event shall the time he was absent from the Adopting Employer be taken into account for the purpose of computing the amount of any benefit payable under the Adopting Employer's Plan.
(c)
Treatment of Leaves of Absence. No leave of absence or other period of absence from employment shall be considered a break in Service if it is not permitted to be treated as such under USERRA, the FMLA, or any other applicable federal or state law. Unless otherwise required by law or unless the terms of the leave otherwise specify, any other authorized leave of absence granted to a Participant shall not be deemed a break in Service, provided the Participant was regularly employed by the Employer immediately prior to his leave of absence and the Participant is reemployed by the Employer upon expiration of the leave of absence. Unless otherwise required by law or unless the terms of the leave otherwise specify, if a Participant does not return to active employment upon expiration of the approved leave period, he will be considered to have incurred a break in Service under this Section as of the date immediately preceding the approved leave period.
(d)
Transfer to Ineligible Employee Status. Unless otherwise specified by the Employer in the Adoption Agreement, if a Participant's employment status changes such that he becomes an Ineligible Employee pursuant to Section 5 above, the period of time spent as an Ineligible Employee shall not be considered a break in Service under this Section, provided the Participant remains employed by the Adopting Employer. Unless otherwise specified by the Adopting Employer, leaves of absence granted to an Ineligible Employee will not be considered a break in Service under this Section, provided the Ineligible Employee returns to active employment with the Employer upon expiration of the approved leave period and the requirements of subsection 7(c) above are otherwise satisfied with respect to such leave of absence.
(e)
Graduated Vesting. If the Adopting Employer has established a graduated vesting schedule in the Adoption Agreement, then a break in Service shall not affect that percentage of the Retirement Benefit in which a Participant is Vested prior to the break.
(f)
Repeated Breaks in Service. If a non-vested Participant has a break in Service, returns to employment with the Adopting Employer, and experiences one or more additional breaks in Service prior to satisfying the one (1) year Service requirement necessary to work off the initial break, then the Participant's Current Credited Service shall not include any Service rendered prior to the most recent break in Service, unless upon the Participant's return to employment with the Employer following the most recent break in Service he performs Service for a period equal to one (1) year.