Allows retired state employees who worked for the unified judicial system as certified or qualified court interpreters to be employed or reemployed for a limited period in a given year.
Summary
H5972 amends Rhode Island’s post-retirement employment rules in the state retirement system to create an additional exception for retired certified or qualified court interpreters. Under the bill, a retired interpreter who previously worked for the unified judicial system may be rehired on a per-diem basis to provide court interpretation services within the Rhode Island unified judicial system without losing or reducing retirement benefits, so long as the work stays within the bill’s annual limits. The measure also specifies that no additional retirement contributions or service credits may be earned for this post-retirement work, and that notice of the employment must be sent to the retirement board.
The bill fits within a broader section of law that already contains multiple exceptions allowing certain retirees to return to limited public service without pension forfeiture, including teachers, nurses, magistrates, municipal employees in certain oversight situations, and other specified roles. H5972 adds court interpreters to that list and applies immediately upon passage. Its practical effect is to expand the pool of available interpreters for the courts by allowing experienced retirees to fill short-term staffing needs while preserving their pension status.
Impact
The bill would amend § 36-10-36 of the General Laws, which governs post-retirement employment for members of the state retirement system, by adding a new carve-out for retired court interpreters. It would permit these retirees to work for the Rhode Island unified judicial system on a limited per-diem basis without suspension or reduction of retirement allowances, while maintaining existing restrictions on additional service credits and contributions. The affected parties are retired state employees who served as certified or qualified court interpreters, the unified judicial system as an employer, and the retirement board, which would receive notice of such employment.
Sentiment
The available bill materials suggest a generally supportive and practical purpose: the bill is framed as a targeted workforce flexibility measure rather than a broad pension change. The caption and explanation emphasize that it would help the unified judicial system use retired interpreters for limited periods without penalizing their retirement benefits. No committee transcript or recorded vote information is provided, so there is no documented opposition or debate in the supplied materials.
Contention
No specific contention is documented in the provided record. Potential areas of concern, based on the bill text itself, would be whether the exception could encourage post-retirement work that blurs the line between retirement and active employment, or whether it creates another special category within the pension code. However, the bill’s limits on per-diem work, annual days, and the prohibition on additional service credits appear designed to address those concerns. The measure is narrowly tailored to retired court interpreters and does not indicate any opposition from named stakeholders in the supplied materials.