CalPERS Censures Board Member, Implements Governance Reforms

(September 15, 2011) — The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration has publicly censured current board member JJ Jelincic as a result of personnel complaints filed against him by coworkers at the pension fund.

“The CalPERS Board does not condone harassment or similar conduct of any kind and all our Board Members are expected to meet this standard,” said Rob Feckner, president of the CalPERS board, in a statement. “Our employees are one of our greatest assets and we are committed to ensuring that their work environment is professional, safe and free from all forms of discrimination and harassment.”

The board suspended Jelincic — who was elected to the CalPERS Board in December 2009 as an at-large representative of state employees — from his position as chairman of the pension fund’s Investment Policy Subcommittee and as vice chairman of the Health Benefits Committee until March 1.

Meanwhile, the largest public pension fund in the United States has also adopted governance reforms in an effort to further strengthen accountability, transparency, and ethics at the fund.

“When we released our special review report on placement agents in the spring, it was a clear reminder that the stewards of CalPERS have to protect a sacred trust, one that should never be allowed to be compromised,” said Feckner in a statement. “We dedicated ourselves to pursuing all of the appropriate policy changes to strengthen transparency, accountability and integrity of this fund. Today, those changes are in place.”

As outlined in a release by the scheme, the governance reforms urge:

1) Each Board Member to sign a statement acknowledging their fiduciary responsibilities in conjunction with fiduciary training and self-assessment processes.

2) An independent third party to assess Board performance once every two years.

3) New roles and responsibilities for the Board President, Vice President, Committee Chairs and Vice-Chairs.

4) A new Powers Reserved structure for the Board and its committees that outlines responsible parties for approvals, standards of conduct, strategy, policy and performance.

5) Certification of a “no undue influence” document to be signed by all senior executives and investment officers.

6) Adoption of a new confidentiality policy that will assist in guiding Board conduct.