Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 284

WILMINGTON - DEFINING COVERED EMPLOYEE UNDER PENSION BENEFITS

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 237, VOLUME 46, LAWS OF DELAWARE, ENTITLED "AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE PAYMENT OF PENSION BENEFITS TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF WILMINGTON, FIXING AGES OF RETIREMENT, ESTABLISHING BENEFITS PAYABLE AND THE SOURCE OF PAYMENT THEREOF, PROVIDING FOR APPLICATIONS FOR PENSIONS AND THE PROCEDURE TO BE FOLLOWED WITH RESPECT THERETO, PROVIDING THAT PENSION BENEFITS SHALL BE FREE OF ATTACHMENT AND LIABILITY FOR STATE AND LOCAL INCOME TAXES AND NON-ASSIGNABLE, AND ALSO PROVIDING FOR THE REDUCTION OF BENEFITS UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS."

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (two-thirds of all the Members elected to each Branch concurring therein):

Section 1. That Section 3, Chapter 237, Volume 46, Laws of Delaware, be and the same is hereby amended by repealing all of said Section and inserting in lieu thereof a new Section 3, as follows:

Section 3. COVERED EMPLOYEE DEFINED:--An employee shall be considered in "covered employment" within the meaning of this Act while the employee receives a regular salary or wages wholly or in part directly or indirectly from the Treasurer of the City of Wilmington or any Department or Agency thereof (except the Board of Public Education in Wilmington), or from the County Treasurer of New Castle County, or the State Treasurer of the State of Delaware; provided, however, that an employee shall not be considered in covered employment if he is a part-time or seasonable employee who is not regularly employed for more than 120 working days in any one calendar year, or if his only employment is as a member of the following Boards and Commissions: Board of Directors of the Street and Sewer Department, Board of Harbor Commissioners, Board of Health, Board of Park Commissioners, Board of Public Utility Commissioners, Board of Water Commissioners, Department of Public Safety, Public Building Commission, New Castle County Bureau of Registration, New Castle County Department of Elections, Sinking Fund Commissioners and Zoning Commission.

In the case of an employee of The Mayor and Council of Wilmington who is called to the service of, or voluntarily enters the Armed Forces of the United States of America, or the National Guard of the State of Delaware when in continuous active service, the Board or Department employing such employee, is hereby authorized and directed to grant to such employee a leave of absence which shall cover the entire period of service, not exceeding four (4) years, upon the completion of such leave of absence and service, to reinstate such employee in the position which such employee held at the time that such leave of absence was granted.

In the event that any employee of The Mayor and Council of Wilmington who shall have entered the Armed Services, as hereinbefore provided, shall have been employed in any Board or Department of The Mayor and Council of Wilmington which shall come under any pension plan enacted or to be enacted by the Legislature of the State of Delaware, the time spent by such employee in the Armed Services shall accrue to his benefit in establishing his right to a pension. It is further provided that this Act shall be retroactive to protect the rights of any employee who shall have qualified as herein provided prior to the passage of this Act.

The provisions of this Section, in regard to time spent in the Armed Services of the United States of America in time of war, shall be deemed an exception to the provisions of Section 4 of this Act.

Section 2. All Acts or parts of Acts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistencies.

Approved June 5, 1951.