Retirement Board of Stoneham v. Contributory Retirement Appeal Board

This case requires us to answer two questions: (1) whether a municipal retirement board possesses absolute discretion to terminate a part-time employee’s membership in a retirement system to which that board has granted the employee membership; and (2) even if such a board does not have the power to terminate a part-time employee’s membership, whether a “separation from [an employee’s] service” under G. L. c. 32, § 3 (1) (a) (i), occurs when a part-time employee working two jobs for the same municipal employer ceases to work only one of those jobs. We answer both questions in the negative and…