Gonzales v. State Public Empl. Retir. Ass'n

• Decision Date: 14 August 2009
• Docket Number: No. 28,109.,No. 28,108.,28,108.,28,109.
• Citation: 218 P.3d 1249,2009 NMCA 109
• Parties: Dennis GONZALES and Tobias Pino, Petitioners-Appellants, v. STATE of New Mexico PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, and its Board, Respondent-Appellee.
• Court: Court of Appeals of New Mexico

218 P.3d 1249

2009 NMCA 109

Dennis GONZALES and Tobias Pino, Petitioners-Appellants, v. STATE of New Mexico PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, and its Board, Respondent-Appellee.

No. 28,108.

No. 28,109.

Court of Appeals of New Mexico.

August 14, 2009.

Law Offices of E. Justin Pennington, E. Justin Pennington, Albuquerque, NM, for Appellants.

G.T.S. Khalsa, Santa Fe, NM, for Appellee.

Youtz and Valdez, P.C., Shane Youtz, Brandt Milstein, Albuquerque, NM, for Amicus Curiae American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME Council 18).

OPINION

FRY, Chief Judge.

{1} In these consolidated cases, Petitioners Dennis Gonzales and Tobias Pino challenge the decision of the Public Employees Retirement Board (the Board) denying them disability retirement benefits. Relying on a statutory provision applicable to a member of the Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) who "is not a currently employed, contributing employee of an affiliated public employer," the Board concluded that each Petitioner met this definition when his application for benefits was filed. NMSA 1978, Section 10-11-10.1(C)(2) (1993). Because of this employment status, the Board determined that neither Petitioner was eligible for benefits because neither was "totally incapacitated for any gainful employment." Section 10-11-10.1(C)(2)(a). We hold that the Board applied the wrong standard for determining disability. Because each Petitioner was a currently employed, contributing employee at the time his disability was incurred, the Board should have utilized the standard applicable to such an employee, which permits disability benefits if the employee is "totally incapacitated for continued employment with an affiliated public employer." Section 10-11-10.1(C)(1)(a). We reverse and remand for reconsideration of each Petitioner's application in light of the proper standard. We also deny PERA's motion to dismiss Gonzales's appeal.

BACKGROUND

Gonzales

{2} Petitioner Gonzales was employed as a juvenile correctional officer by the Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD) beginning in 1997. He sustained an injury to his back, later diagnosed as a herniated disk, on March 16, 2004. He was placed on leave and began receiving workers' compensation benefits on September 1, 2004. By January 2005, Gonzales had exhausted all of his accrued annual and sick leave, and in March 2005, he reached maximum medical improvement. When his employer determined that there was no suitable employment within CYFD that could accommodate Gonzales's restrictions, it terminated him effective August 15, 2005. Upon learning of his impending termination, Gonzales applied with PERA for disability retirement benefits on August 5, 2005. PERA determined that more information was needed for Gonzales's application, and the application was finally deemed complete on September 30, 2005.

{3} The following facts are undisputed. At the time of his application for benefits, Gonzales had five or more years of PERA service credit, he was not able to continue the job he had when he was injured, but he was not disabled from commensurate gainful employment. He made no PERA employee contributions in 2005, with the possible exception of June 2005.

{4} PERA informed Gonzales on October 13, 2005, that its Disability Review Committee (DRC) recommended denial of disability benefits "because the information provided did not show that [he] was totally and permanently incapacitated from performing any gainful employment." Gonzales appealed the recommendation, and the appeal was heard by a hearing officer.

{5} At the hearing, Gonzales argued that under the proper interpretation of the applicable statute, he was a currently employed, contributing PERA member at the time of his application on August 5, 2005. As such, he maintained that he was entitled to disability benefits because he was incapacitated for continued employment with an affiliated public employer. He argued alternatively that his membership status should be determined at the time his disability arose.

{6} The hearing officer filed his recommended decision, in which he rejected Gonzales's argument and concluded that the determinative date was the date Gonzales's application for benefits was complete, September 30, 2005. However, even if the date of the initial application — August 5, 2005 — were deemed conclusive, the hearing officer determined that Gonzales was not a currently employed, contributing employee at that time because he made no contributions to PERA in August or September 2005, and he was terminated on August 15, 2005. As a result of this status, the hearing officer determined that Gonzales would be entitled to benefits only if he could establish that he was incapacitated for any gainful employment. Because Gonzales stipulated that he was not so incapacitated, the hearing officer concluded that Gonzales was not entitled to benefits.

{7} The Board adopted the hearing officer's recommended decision and Gonzales appealed the Board's decision to the district court. The district court affirmed the Board's decision, and we granted Gonzales's petition for certiorari.

Pino

{8} Petitioner Tobias Pino was employed as a firefighter with the City of Albuquerque since 1989. On November 10, 2000, Pino sustained an on-the-job injury to his left knee. Although the City terminated his employment in August 2001, the City's personnel board reinstated him retroactively. Pino was employed by the City until he resigned on April 12, 2006, at which time he was on leave without pay. The parties stipulated that Pino's last PERA contributions were made in December 2005.

{9} Pino filed his application for disability benefits with PERA on January 18, 2006. PERA informed Pino that it required more information, and Pino's application was deemed complete March 1, 2006. The DRC denied Pino disability retirement benefits, and Pino appealed. A hearing officer presided over the appeal hearing.

{10} Pino argued that the date of his injury was the date for determining his employment status and that on the date of his injury he was a currently employed, contributing member of PERA. Consequently, he argued, he was entitled to disability retirement benefits if he was not able to continue employment with an affiliated public employer. The hearing officer rejected this argument and concluded that the operative date for determining employment status was the date of Pino's application. Because Pino was not a currently employed, contributing employee on that date, he was entitled to disability retirement benefits only if he established that he was totally incapacitated for any gainful employment. The hearing officer concluded that Pino had failed to meet this standard and affirmed the DRC's denial of benefits. The Board adopted the hearing officer's recommended decision, and Pino appealed to the district court, which affirmed. We granted Pino's petition for certiorari.

DISCUSSION

{11} On certiorari, "we conduct the same review of an administrative order as the district court sitting in its appellate capacity, while at the same time determining whether the district court erred in the first appeal." Talamante v. Pub. Employees Ret. Bd., 2006-NMCA-032, ¶ 6, 139 N.M. 226, 131 P.3d 76 (App.2005) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "We review the Board's decision to determine whether (1) [it] acted fraudulently, arbitrarily or capriciously; (2) the final decision was not supported by substantial evidence; or (3) [the Board] did not act in accordance with [the] law." Id. (alterations in original) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To the extent our review requires statutory interpretation, we undertake de novo review. Id.

{12} This case presents issues of statutory construction. We must determine the meaning of "currently employed, contributing employee" as used in Section 10-11-10.1(C)(1) of the Public Employees Retirement Act (the Act), NMSA 1978, Sections 10-11-1 to -141 (1987, as amended through 2007). In addition, we must determine the triggering event for assessing an employee's status under the Act's provisions governing disability retirement benefits.

{13} Our Supreme Court recently articulated the role of appellate courts in construing a statute in Bishop v. Evangelical Good Samaritan Society, 2009-NMSC-036, 146 N.M. 473, 212 P.3d 361. The Court first observed that "if the meaning of a statute is truly clear-not vague, uncertain, ambiguous, or otherwise doubtful-it is of course the responsibility of the judiciary to apply the statute as written and not to second-guess the [L]egislature's selection from among competing policies." Id. ¶ 10 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). But the Court also "cautioned against an overly simplistic application of the plain-meaning rule." Id. The Court stated that statutory construction should begin with an examination of the statute's language, which "is the primary indicator of legislative intent," and that the reviewing court should read all parts of a statute together "so that all parts are given effect." Id. ¶ 11. The appellate court "must also consider the practical implications and the [L]egislative purpose of a statute, and when the literal meaning of a statute would be absurd, unreasonable, or otherwise inappropriate in application, [the court must] go beyond the mere text of the statute." Id.

Relevant Provisions of the Act

{14} We begin with an overview of the Act's relevant provisions. The Act sets out the requirements for an award of disability retirement benefits as follows:

The disability review committee may retire a member on account of disability before the time the member would otherwise be eligible for retirement if the following requirements are satisfied:

(1) the member applying for disability retirement was a member at the time the disability was incurred;

(2) a written application ... has been filed with the association by the...