CHERYL ROOTH VS. BOARD OF TRUSTEES, ET AL. (PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM) (A-2378-20)
A former public school bus driver appealed from a PERS final agency decision declaring her ineligible to file an accidental disability retirement application when separation from service was based upon an irrevocable resignation, not related to a disability, in accordance with N.J.A.C. 17:1-6.4.
On appeal, the court was required to determine whether a school employee, who irrevocably resigned while an employment grievance was pending, could file an application for ordinary or accidental disability retirement benefits, when the charges underlying the grievance did not relate to a disability. For the reasons stated in the court's opinion, it concluded that , in the first instance, a public school employee's irrevocable resignation from employment rendered the school employee ineligible for ordinary or accidental retirement benefits because the school employee's separation from service was based upon a resolution of the pending grievance, and not an alleged disability.
