A former County employee pleaded guilty to a felony conflict-of-interest charge in May 2022. The Retirement Board informed him in August 2022 that under state pension law codified at Government Code section 7522.74, his felony conviction required a forfeiture of part of his pension benefits. The criminal court later reduced the felony to a misdemeanor under Penal Code section 17(b)(3). The former employee asked the pension board to reinstate his benefits.
The County Retirement Board denied his request, and the trial court upheld that denial. The California Court of Appeal addressed whether a public employee is “convicted” under Government Code section 7522.74 when guilt is adjudicated (by plea), or only when a judgment is entered, and the effect of a subsequent reduction to a misdemeanor.
The Court agreed with published precedent that a guilty plea to a felony constitutes a “conviction” for purposes of the pension forfeiture statute, and that the subsequent reduction to a misdemeanor did not undo the earlier conviction for pension purposes. The Court noted that the forfeiture law only identifies one circumstance when pension benefits can be returned– when the conviction is reversed. Thus, the former employee could not receive his forfeited pension benefits. Under the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act, statutory felony pension forfeiture is triggered by the adjudication of guilt, and subsequent reductions of the underlying charge do not restore forfeited benefits.
Bishop v. San Diego County Employees Retirement Association (2026) Cal.App.LEXIS 106.