Bypassed police officers and firefighters would get conditional retirement credit

Municipal retirement systems would count eligible hiring delays as active full-time service toward retirement. This would cover Massachusetts municipal police officers and firefighters in a retirement system funded by member contributions who were bypassed on a civil service hiring list before their initial appointment. A lower-ranked applicant must have been chosen instead. The Civil Service Commission must have approved an order or agreement restoring the worker to the hiring list after an appeal. The worker must accept the municipality’s first available permanent appointment offered to them. The worker must pay the retirement contributions they would have owed for that period, based on the pay they would have received, plus regular interest. Credit would cover the bypass date through the date of permanent appointment. The bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.