Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Retired Boston police officers may now work details in the city after legislators fixed a problem that arose from a city “home rule” petition.
The petition authorizes the Boston Police commissioner to appoint retired Boston police officers as special police officers to perform details and other police work. As retirees collecting public pensions, these officers are subject to rules placing limitations on their hours worked and earnings.
The city’s bill, filed by Rep. Dan Hunt of Boston, was passed by the Legislature and then vetoed by Gov. Charlie Baker due to concerns about conflicts with federal unemployment insurance rules. The governor said that he fully supported the intent of the bill, but wanted to make sure Massachusetts stayed in compliance with federal law.
The Legislature overrode the governor’s veto after including language in a budget bill to apply state unemployment insurance laws to retired police officers performing special duties.
Under federal unemployment law, a retiree collecting a pension is not barred from then filing for unemployment insurance once temporary work completed within the allowable 960-hours comes to an end. A bill is pending in the Legislature that would further cap unemployment earnings when a retiree is collecting a public pension.
At least 200 communities in Massachusetts use retired police officers for details and special events.