§ 2:711 — Employees; retirement; pension plans

§711. Employees; retirement; pension plans
A. Employees at the airport may transfer to the regional authority to which
operational jurisdiction of the airport will be transferred as provided in this Section on one
or more dates agreed to by the regional authority and the local government. The date or dates
shall be as soon as administratively feasible, but not later than one hundred eighty days after
the FAA approval date. The initial terms of employment, including for purposes of pension
and other benefits, for transferring employees shall be substantially similar to the terms of
employment for the employees immediately before the transfer. The regional authority shall
offer to enter into a collective bargaining agreement covering transferring employees who
on their transfer date were covered by a collective bargaining agreement with the local
government. The agreement offered by the regional authority shall have substantially similar
terms of employment as the local government collective bargaining agreement and remain
in effect for the same period. The regional authority shall become the employer of
transferring employees on the date of transfer without a break in employment and shall
recognize the length of service of the transferring employees with the local government for
purposes of the regional authority's benefit plans and programs. The local government shall
not be an employer of any employee at the airport after the transfer date. The accrued local
government pension benefits or credits of a transferring employee shall not be diminished
because of the transfer. The pension benefits and credits shall be transferred to the retirement
system or pension plan established by the regional authority as provided in Subsections B
and C of this Section.
B.(1)(a) Except as provided in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, by the approval
date, the regional authority shall have taken all necessary steps to become a participating
employer in the Employees' Retirement System of the city of Baton Rouge and parish of East
Baton Rouge. In the alternative, the regional authority may, by the approval date, adopt
another or establish its own retirement system or pension plan that initially provides benefits
to each transferring employee that are substantially similar to the benefits provided by the
local government's retirement system or pension plan before the FAA approval date. The
regional authority's retirement system or pension plan shall credit a transferring employee for
his prior employment with the local government, including for purposes of eligibility,
vesting, and accruals, and the employee shall make any mandatory employee contribution
to the regional authority's retirement system or pension plan.
(b) If the regional authority elects to adopt another or establish its own retirement
system or pension plan, then the regional authority shall pay to the Employees' Retirement
System of the city of Baton Rouge and the parish of East Baton Rouge an amount calculated
in accordance with the ordinances governing the city-parish retirement system that accounts
for the loss of the positions of the employees transferred to the regional authority who are no
longer covered by the city-parish retirement system.
(2) Notwithstanding any provision of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection to the
contrary, the regional authority may elect to become a participating employer in the
Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System. By the approval date, the authority shall
notify the system's board of trustees of the authority's election to become a participating
employer or to establish its own retirement system or pension plan.
C. If the regional authority elects to establish its own retirement system or pension
plan, the local government shall, as soon as administratively feasible, but not later than one
hundred eighty days after all employee transfers under Subsection A of this Section, transfer
to the trustees of the regional authority retirement system or pension plan both of the
following:
(1)(a) For defined benefit plans to which R.S. 11:143 does not apply, all accrued
benefits, all accrued liabilities, and a share of the assets of the local government's plan
sufficient to fund the transferring employees' accrued benefits to the extent that the benefits
have been funded by the local government on or before the transfer date.
(b) For defined benefit plans to which R.S. 11:143 applies:
(i) If the regional authority's retirement system or pension plan is required to make
transfers to other systems in accordance with R.S. 11:143, then the defined benefit plan shall
transfer to the regional authority's system or plan an amount calculated in accordance with
the provisions of R.S. 11:143 upon application of the member for a transfer of service credit.
(ii) If the regional authority's retirement system or pension plan is not required to
make transfers to other systems in accordance with R.S. 11:143, then the defined benefit plan
shall transfer to the regional authority's system or plan the amount of the employee's
contributions upon application of the member for that refund and transfer.
(2) For defined contribution plans, the amount credited to each transferring
employee's account in the local government's retirement system or pension plan on or before
the transfer date. For purposes of this Paragraph, the local government shall fully vest the
account of the transferring employee on the day immediately preceding the transfer date and
shall make contributions on behalf of the transferring employee for the portion of the transfer
year in which the employee was employed by the local government and eligible to participate
in the plans regardless of any allocation requirements that otherwise might prevent the
transferring employee from receiving a contribution for the year of the transfer.
D. The local government shall transfer the amounts to be transferred pursuant to
Subsection E of this Section in cash or in some other form acceptable to the trustees. The
transfer of money to the trustees pursuant to this Subsection terminates the local
government's obligation to the transferring employees and the transferring employees' rights
under the local government's retirement system and pension plans.
E. If the local government has an obligation to provide retiree health benefits or
payments to transferring employees, the regional authority shall assume the obligations. The
regional authority shall not assume obligations in excess of the amount properly allocable
to the transferring employees. The local government shall, as soon as administratively
feasible but not later than one hundred eighty days after all employee transfers pursuant to
Subsection A of this Section, transfer to the regional authority an amount sufficient to fund
the transferring employees' accrued benefits to the extent that the benefits have been funded
by the local government on or before the transfer date. The regional authority shall transfer
the amounts required to be transferred under this Subsection to a qualifying entity established
by the regional authority in cash, or in some other form acceptable to the qualifying entity.
The transfer of money to a qualifying entity established by the regional authority pursuant
to this Subsection terminates the local government's obligations to the transferring employees
and the transferring employees' rights to receive the benefits from the local government.
F. This Section shall apply only to local government employees who transfer their
employment to the regional authority in accordance with this Section.
G.(1) An employee hired by the regional authority, other than a transferring
employee, is eligible to participate in the benefit plans established by the regional authority,
in accordance with and subject to the terms of the plans as established by the regional
authority, in its sole discretion.
(2)(a) If the regional authority elects to participate in the Employees' Retirement
System of the city of Baton Rouge and parish of East Baton Rouge, an employee's
membership in the system shall be governed by the ordinances and other plan provisions of
the system.
(b) If the regional authority elects to participate in the Municipal Police Employees'
Retirement System, an employee's membership in the system shall be governed by the
statutes and other plan provisions of the system.
H. As used in this Section:
(1) "Transfer date" means the earlier of the date of transfer or the deadline for
transfer of employment to the regional authority.
(2) "Transferring employee" means an employee at the airport who timely transfers
to the regional authority by the transfer date.

Legislative History

Acts 2025, No. 118, §1, eff. June 8, 2025.