COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS The Appeals Court PLYMOUTH COUNTY , SS. NO. 2018-P-1221 PLYMOUTH COUNTY RETIREMENT BOARD, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. CONTRIBUTORY RETIREMENT APPEALS BOARD, Defendant-Appellant. APPEAL FROM A JUDGMENT OF THE PLYMOUTH COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT BRIEF OF THE CONTRIBUTORY RETIREMENT APPEALS BOARD MAURA HEALEY Attorney General Suleyken D. Walker, BBO # 654933 Assistant Attorney General Government Bureau One Ashburton Place Boston, Massachusetts 02108 (617) 963-2981 email: [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF AUTHORITIES................................. 4 QUESTIONS PRESENTED.................................. 8 STATEMENT OF THE CASE................................ 8 Nature of the Case.............................. 8 Prior Proceedings............................... 9 Statement of Facts............................. 10 Statutory Background........................... 13 1. The Commonwealth’s Contributory Retirement System.................... 13 2. Retirement Credit for Part-Time, Provisional, Temporary, Temporary Provisional, Seasonal, or Intermittent Employment or Service.............................. 15 3. Paying for Retirement Credit for Previous Periods of Part-time, Provisional, Temporary, Temporary Provisional, Seasonal, or Intermittent Employment or Service.............................. 19 SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT............................. 20 ARGUMENT............................................ 23 I. CRAB’s Interpretation of § 4(2)(c) is a Reasonable Construction of a Statutory Provision Concerning Retirement Credit and Payment for Prior Non-Fulltime or Temporary Service......................... 23 A. Section 4(2)(c) of Chapter 32 Requires That a Member Who, Prior to Becoming a Member, Received Compensation While Performing Non- Fulltime or Temporary Service, Must Remit Make-Up Payments As a 2 Condition of Obtaining Retirement Credit............................... 25 B. The Superior Court’s Disregard of § 4(2)(c) and Exclusive Focus on § 4(2)(b) Contravenes the General Rule that a Statute Should be Construed as a Whole to Produce an Internal Consistency................. 29 1. The Superior Court’s Analysis Contravenes Basic Principles of Statutory Construction....... 30 2. Neither § 4(1)(b) nor this Court’s Lawrence Decision Supplies a Persuasive Reason for Ignoring the Clear Mandate of § 4(2)(c)............ 31 3. The Superior Court Erred in Concluding that Reserve and Permanent-Intermittent Police Officers are Not “Part-time, Provisional, Temporary, Temporary Provisional, Seasonal or Intermittent” Employees Within the Meaning of § 4(2)(c).................... 34 II. CRAB’s Grimes Decision Does Not Contradict or Otherwise Undermine the Validity of CRAB’s Interpretation of § 4(2).................................... 37 CONCLUSION.......................................... 39 CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO MASS. R. APP. P. 16(k).... 40 ADDENDUM............................................ 41 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE..............................179 3 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES Cases Beeler v. Downey, 387 Mass. 609 (1982)............................33 Boston Ret. Bd. v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Board, 441 Mass. 78 (2004).........................13, 29 City of New Bedford v. Energy Facilities Sitting Council, 413 Mass. 482 (1992)............................24 Commissioner of Correction v. Superior Court Dep’t of Trial Court for Cty. of Worcester, 446 Mass. (2006)................................31 Commonwealth v. Mandel, 61 Mass. App. Ct. 526 (2004)....................39 Commonwealth v. Vickey, 381 Mass. 762 (1980)............................39 Gallagher v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 4 Mass. App. Ct. 1 (1976)...................16, 35 Grimes v. Malden Retirement Bd., et al., CR-15-5 (November 18, 2016).................22, 37 Hallett v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 431 Mass. 66 (2000).............................35 Holbrook v. Holbrook, 1 Pick 248 (1823)...............................26 Housman v. LBM Fin., LLC, 80 Mass. App. Ct. 213 (2011)....................39 Jette v. Norfolk County Ret. Bd., CR-14-720 (October 23, 2017)....................14 Lawrence Ret. Bd. v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 87 Mass. App. Ct. 1124 (2015)...21, 27, 31, 32, 33 4 Leary v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 421 Mass. 344 (1995)............................26 MacAloney v. Worcester Reg. Ret. System, et al., CR-119 (CRAB June 21, 2013).................12, 13 Manning v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 29 Mass. App. Ct. 253 (1990)....................16 Massachusetts Ass’n of Minority Law Enforcement Officers v. Abban, 434 Mass. (2001)................................24 Matter of E.C., 479 Mass. 113 (2018)............................34 Namay v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 19 Mass. App. Ct. 456 (1985)....................24 Retirement Bd. of Concord v. Colleran, 34 Mass. App. Ct. 486 (1993)....................37 Ret. Bd. of Stoneham v. Contributory Ret. Appeal Bd., 476 mass. 130 (2016)....................13, 16, 24 Rockett v. State Bd. of Ret., 77 Mass. App. Ct. 434 (2010)....14, 17, 25, 28, 37 School Comm. of Greenfield v. Greenfield Ed. Ass’n, 385 mass. 70 (1982).............................26 Telesetsky v. Wight, 395 Mass. 868 (1985)............................30 Statutes G.L. c. 30A, § 14....................................10 G.L. c. 32........................8, 11, 20, 24, 28, 37 G.L. c. 32, § 3......................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 3(2)(d)............................15, 36 G.L. c. 32, § 3(3)...................................28 5 G.L. c. 32, § 3(5)...................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 3(6)...................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 3(8)...................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 3(i)...................................36 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1).......................21, 27, 28, 32 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(a)............................16, 27 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(b)................21, 31, 32, 33, 34 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(b)-(n),(p)-(s)....................27 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1 ½).................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1 ¾ )................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(g ½)..............................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(h)................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(h ½)..............................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(n)................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(o)................................19 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(p)................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(q)................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(s)................................28 G.L. c. 32, § 4(1)(0)................................19 G.L. c. 32, § 4(2).......................21, 27, 32, 37 G.L. c. 32, § 4(2)(b)............................passim G.L. c. 32, § 4(2)(c)............................passim G.L. c. 32, § 5(1)(a)................................14 G.L. c. 32, § 10(1)..................................14 6 G.L. c. 32, § 16(4)..................................13 G.L. c. 32, § 20(1)(b)...............................13 G.L. c. 32, §§ 20(3)(4)..............................13 G.L. c. 32, § 20(4)(b)...............................13 G.L. c. 32, § 20(5)(b)...............................13 G.L. c. 32, § 22.............................14, 17, 33 G.L. c. 32, §§ 22(1)(a)-(f)..........................14 G.L. c. 32, § 22(7)(c)...............................14 Legislative History St. 1945, c. 658.....................................15 St. 1964, c. 125.................................15, 26 St. 1965, c. 73..................................15, 26 St. 1988, c. 172.....................................26 St. 2009, c. 21, § 25................................19 Other Reference Oxford English Dictionary: A New English Dictionary, 1970..................35 Saving clauses, exceptions, provisos, 1A Sutherland Statutory Construction, § 20:22 (7th ed.) ...............................29 7 QUESTIONS PRESENTED The Contributory Retirement Appeal Board (CRAB) is the agency charged with adjudicating disputes that arise under the Commonwealth’s public employee retirement statute and, accordingly, is the agency with expertise in the interpretation and application of that statute, G.L. c. 32 (Chapter 32). The question presented in this appeal is: Whether the Superior Court erred in vacating CRAB’s decision that Chapter 32 requires a member of the retirement system who previously served as a permanent-intermittent police officer for the same governmental unit, and was compensated for that service, to remit make-up payments to the Commonwealth’s contributory retirement fund in order to obtain retirement credit for such service? STATEMENT OF THE CASE Nature of the Case This is an appeal from the Superior Court’s conclusion that CRAB incorrectly interpreted a provision in Chapter 32 concerning a member’s right to retirement credit for service provided prior to membership in the system. CRAB asks this Court to reverse the Superior Court’s substitution of its own 8 interpretation of that provision, and to affirm CRAB’s reasonable interpretation of the statute it is charged with administering. Prior Proceedings On March 19, 2014, the Plymouth County Retirement Board (“the Board”), wrote to Antonio Gomes (“Gomes”), a member of the Plymouth County retirement system, informing him that in order to receive retirement credit for his prior service as a permanent- intermittent police officer for the town of Plymouth, it was necessary for him to remit make-up payments. Gomes appealed the decision to the Division of Administrative Law Appeals (DALA). RA. 33. During the proceeding before DALA, the magistrate joined the Public