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EDITORIAL: Court wrongly halts public pension info

Orange County Register - 11/15/2019

Nov. 15--The abuse of the state's disability system is a severe enough problem that the California Public Employees' Retirement System has established a toll-free ethics hotline where people can call to report allegations of disability abuse. Such a tough-minded approach is understandable given the costs that such disabilities impose on the CalPERS system.

Newspaper reports have raised a variety of questions regarding the disability system. For instance, the Sacramento Bee in 2004 coined the termed, "Chief's Disease," which refers to the way that most top-level California Highway Patrol officers claimed a disability after retirement. Other newspapers reported on retirees who received huge payouts for ho-hum-seeming injuries and went on to live seemingly active lives.

Taxpayers, who financially back the pension funds, are right to wonder whether disability standards are tough enough. Yet one of the best ways to keep track of costs, flag potential abuses and address related public-policy questions is to make it easier for the public to know which public employees have retired on disability. Unfortunately, a recent court ruling lets CalPERS keep shielding that information.

The Nevada Policy Research Institute, which operates the Transparent California website that publishes salary and pension data, filed suit against CalPERS demanding that it provide include a short identifier with its pension data. The group wanted CalPERS to note whether a retiree has received a "service," "disability" or "industrial disability" pension.

The pension fund, along with four unions, claimed that such information undermined members' privacy and was the equivalent of releasing private medical records. The court agreed with the pension fund and the unions. However, simply noting whether a person's pension is a disability does not release private medical data, which all parties agree should remain confidential.

The public already has the right to learn about a public employee's retirement benefits. Providing the additional information will help taxpayers understand disability costs and will do a better job than a tip line in keeping an eye on any potential abuse.

Let's hope the appeals court understands the importance of that point.

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