Seven probation officers serving throughout the state won the right to remain in the CORP retirement system after a hearing Sept. 8th before the Judicial Branch Local Board. This was a huge victory for the officers because they were able to remain eligible for a 20-year retirement rather than being forced into the ASRS system and its much longer 80-point retirement. 

This story began more than two years ago when these officers were hired into probation. At that time, the Legislature had just passed an AZCOPS bill allowing probation officers to opt into the CORP 20-year retirement. It was during the transition (and virtually every eligible officer transferred to CORP) that new officers were given the option of joining ASRS or CORP. Unfortunately, the new officers were given no information by the HR Department and they opted for ASRS.

In an AZPOA meeting a few weeks later, the new officers discovered the benefits of CORP and realized that they had made a mistake in choosing ASRS. AZPOA officials then interceded on the officers’ behalf and met with both probation department HR and officials within the Administrative Offices of the Courts (AOC). Everyone agreed that the officers should be allowed to switch retirements. The officers were provided with the appropriate forms, signed up for CORP and thought the issue was resolved. Their paychecks began to reflect deductions for and payments into the CORP retirement fund.

One year later, a secretary at the CORP Local Board discovered both the original ASRS forms and the subsequent CORP forms for the officers. The secretary, without advising the officers, submitted the forms to the CORP Local Board and recommended that the Board unilaterally remove the officers from CORP and force them into the ASRS plan. The Board did vote to remove the officers from CORP. However, the removal of our members was not easy or quiet.

Fortunately for the officers, AZPOA had the foresight to have two of its members run for and get elected to the Local Board. One of our AZPOA members, Jason Hathcock, sitting as an elected CORP Local Board member, raised the alarm. He asked that the CORP board notify the officers that they had been summarily removed and he advised AZPOA that the removal had occurred over his objection.

AZPOA got AZCOPS Legal involved. Immediately AZCOPS Legal moved for a rehearing before the Board. The Board granted the rehearing and set the matter for a full evidentiary hearing before the Board. AZCOPS Legal then ramped up for the hearing gathering documentation, interviewing witnesses and confirming that the other interested parties (Probation and the CORP plan) had absolutely no objection to allowing the officers back into CORP.

AZCOPS Legal attended the hearing and put on the case as to why the officers should be allowed into CORP. It quickly became apparent that the problem was the Board Secretary who was, for some reason, personally invested in throwing our members out of CORP. As the hearing wore on, it became crystal clear that the secretary had been responsible for the full transition from ASRS to CORP, and that she was defensive about some of the problems that occurred. 

Near the end of the hearing, the two Board members from AZPOA began to asked pointed questions of the secretary and her conduct. Once all of the evidence was presented, the Board moved into executive session. When the Board resumed, it voted 5-0 to reinstate our members. The effect for the members is huge. They can retire in 20 years with a full retirement, which is 10 years earlier than if they had been forced to remain in ASRS. 

There is another lesson here -- one that AZCOPS has been advocating for years. Members need to be actively involved on retirement, disability and disciplinary boards. When we have members on these types of boards, we are not guaranteed to win, but we are guaranteed a fair hearing. And that really is all we need!