(a)
“Compensation earnable” means the creditable compensation a person could earn in a school year for creditable service performed on a full-time basis, excluding service for which contributions are credited by the system to the Defined Benefit Supplement Program.
(b)
The board may determine compensation earnable for persons employed on a part-time basis.
(c)
If service credit for a school year is less than 1.000, compensation earnable shall be the quotient obtained when creditable compensation paid in that year is divided by the service credit for that year, except as provided in subdivision (d).
(d)
If a member earns creditable compensation at multiple pay rates during a school year and service credit at the highest pay rate is at least 0.900 of a year, compensation earnable shall be determined as if all service credit for that year had been earned at the highest pay rate. This subdivision shall be applicable only for purposes of determining final compensation. If a member earns creditable compensation at multiple pay rates during a school year and service credit at the highest pay rate is less than 0.900 of a year, compensation earnable shall be determined pursuant to subdivision (c).
(e)
If creditable service is not performed on a full-time basis because a member is performing those activities pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 22119.5, compensation earnable for
those activities shall be determined as if the creditable compensation had been earned at the lowest pay rate for other creditable service activities performed by the member for the same employer during the same school year.
(f)
(1)Except as provided in subdivision (g), for purposes of determining compensation earnable for a member employed by a community college prior to July 1, 1996, full time shall be defined pursuant to
Section 22138.5 and pursuant to Section 20521 of Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations, as those provisions read on June 30, 1996, if application of that definition will increase the compensation earnable or otherwise enhance the benefits of the
member.
(2)
For purposes of administering this subdivision, the board shall have the authority to do both of the following:
(A)
Establish and implement factors and assumptions necessary to calculate and compare the benefits payable under the definition of compensation earnable described in this subdivision. Those factors and assumptions may be based on information reported by the employer, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(i)
Base hours.
(ii)
Actual earnings.
(iii)Compensation earnable.
(B)
Review
member benefit calculations that were performed using the factors and assumptions described in subparagraph (A). If the board determines that an employer failed to identify part-time service performed, the board shall consider that part-time service to be performed in a part-time lecture assignment as defined by the employer. If the board determines by the review of the member benefit calculations that the required information reported by the employer is inaccurate, incomplete, or the factors and assumptions were applied incorrectly, the board may recalculate member benefits using additional factors and assumptions that may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(i)
Base hours.
(ii)
Actual earnings.
(iii)Compensation earnable.
(3)
This subdivision shall apply to a member employed by a community college prior to July 1, 1996, if the community college subsequently acts to reduce the minimum standard for full time as described in subdivision (c) of Section 22138.5 for the class of employees, and that community college provides written notice to the system of the act of the community college to reduce that minimum standard.
(4)
This subdivision shall not apply to a member employed by a community college that has not reduced the minimum standard as described in subdivision (c) of Section 22138.5.
(g)
Subdivision (f) shall not apply to a member subject to the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of
2013.