Section 43:15A-79 - State employees paid by county or municipality; membership in Public Employees' Retirement System(a) All employees of the State whose compensation is paid in whole or in part by any county or municipality in which chapter 15 of Title 43 of the Revised Statutes has been, or in which this act is, adopted shall be entitled to receive the same benefits as employees of such county or municipality are entitled to receive and the county or municipality paying such compensation shall have the same obligations with respect to such employees of the State as it has to its own employees under this act.(b) All employees of the State, employed on or before the effective date of this amendatory act, whose compensation is paid in whole or in part by any county or municipality or by any board, body, commission or agency of any county or municipality maintained by funds supplied by the county or municipality in which chapter 15 of Title 43 of the Revised Statutes or in which this act has not been adopted and for which a separate retirement system has been provided by statute, and who were members of such system on the effective date of this amendatory act and do not apply for withdrawal from such system within 60 days from such effective date, shall be treated as county or municipal employees for the purpose of membership in a retirement or pension system and, as such, they shall be ineligible for membership in the public employees' retirement system.(c) Except as provided in subsection (b) hereof, an employee of the State whose compensation is paid in whole or in part by any such county or municipality or by any board, body, commission or agency of any such county or municipality maintained by funds supplied by such county or municipality shall be eligible for membership in the public employees' retirement system and shall not be a member of any county or municipal pension system by reason of such State service. Any such veteran employee who is not a member of such county or municipal pension system on the effective date of this amendatory act may within 60 days from such effective date apply for prior service credit as provided in section 60 of this act, and shall be entitled to same as therein provided. The county or municipality shall be deemed to be the employer of such employees of the State for the purposes of this act and shall have the obligation as such employer as set forth in section 81 of this act. Any employee who applies to withdraw from a county retirement system, as provided in subsection (b) hereof, shall, within said 60-day period, file a copy of such application with the board of trustees of the public employees' retirement system together with his application for membership in the public employees' retirement system. The county retirement system to which such employee has made contributions shall cause to be transferred to the public employees' retirement system within 90 days thereafter the amount of such employees' contributions to such county retirement system, without interest, for which such employee shall receive prior service credit for the time of his membership in such county retirement system. Any such veteran member who, in his application for membership in the public employees' retirement system requests prior service credit as provided by section 60 of this act, shall be entitled to same as therein provided.
(d) Any State employee veteran, who is not eligible for membership, by reason of subsection (b) hereof, in the public employees' retirement system, and who is paid in whole or in part by any county or municipality or by any board, body, commission or agency of any county or municipality maintained by funds supplied by the county or municipality, shall not thereby be rendered ineligible for retirement benefits under sections 43:4-1, 43:4-2 and 43:4-3 of the Revised Statutes, and the responsibility for the payment of said retirement benefits shall be upon the county or municipality or such board, body, commission or agency which pays his salary.(e) When any employee of any county in which chapter 15 of Title 43 of the Revised Statutes or this act has not been adopted and for which a separate retirement system has been provided by statute, who was a member of such system on February 10, 1956, later becomes an employee of the State, whose compensation is paid in whole or in part by such county, he shall retain his membership in such retirement system, notwithstanding the provisions of section 7 of the act of which this act is amendatory, provided that he shall notify the Board of Trustees of the Public Employees' Retirement System of his desire to retain such membership within 30 days after his becoming a State employee, or within 30 days from the effective date of this amendatory act, whichever is later. Thereafter he shall be treated as a county employee for the purpose of membership in a retirement system and, as such, shall be ineligible for membership in the Public Employees' Retirement System.L.1954, c.84, p.524, s.79; amended by L.1954, c.244, p.902, s.15; L.1956, c.4, p.15, s.1; L.1957, c.31, p.58, s.1.