§ 5.29.090. Miscellaneous provisions.

A.

No Employment Rights. Nothing contained in the Plan shall be construed as a contract of employment between an Employer and any Employee, or as the right of any Employee to continue in the employment of an Employer, to be employed for any specific period of time.

B.

Exclusive Obligations and Rights. The County, an Employer, and the Plan Administrator do not have any obligation or duty other than as stated in the Plan and, except as specified in this document, no one has a right to Plan benefits or a legal or equitable right against the County, the Board of Supervisors, an Employer, the Plan, or the Plan Administrator.

C.

No Assignment of Benefits. Except to the extent required in accordance with applicable law, Plan benefits are not subject to anticipation, alienation, sale, transfer, assignment, pledge, encumbrance, levy or charge of any kind, and any attempt to effect any of these actions is void.

D.

Misrepresentation or Fraud. A Covered Employee who receives a Plan benefit as a result of false or incomplete information or a misleading or fraudulent representation shall repay all amounts the Plan paid and is liable for all collection costs including attorneys' fees and court costs.

E.

Legal Action.

1.

Exhaustion of Administrative Procedures. Before pursuing legal action, a person claiming Plan benefits or seeking redress related to the Plan shall first exhaust all claim, review and appeal procedures provided by the Plan. No action at law or in equity may be brought to recover Plan benefits or seek redress related to the Plan until the claim procedures contained in Section 5.29.060 have been exhausted.

2.

Necessary Parties. Unless otherwise required by law, the County and the Plan Administrator are the only necessary parties to any action or proceeding that involves the Plan or its administration. No Employee, Employer or other person or entity is entitled to notice of any legal action, unless a court with appropriate jurisdiction orders otherwise.

F.

Governing Law. The Plan's provisions and all Plan matters, including actions of the parties involved, are construed and enforced according to applicable California laws unless preempted by federal law.

G.

Governing Instrument. This writing, together with any documentation incorporated by reference, is the legal instrument governing the Plan. In case of conflict between this document and any of the writings incorporated by reference, the provisions of the documentation govern in the following order: this document, any other plan document, any summary plan description, any enrollment or election form and, finally, any other writing. No writing or evidence may contradict or interpret the Plan's terms or provisions unless specifically incorporated by reference herein.

H.

Savings Clause. If a Plan provision or its application is held invalid under governing law by a court of appropriate jurisdiction, the remainder of the Plan and its application will not be affected.

I.

Parties' Liability. Neither the County, the Board of Supervisors, an Employer, the Plan Administrator, nor any delegate thereof, shall be liable for:

1.

good faith reliance on any fact or absence of fact, good faith action, or good faith omission,

2.

another person's act or omission, unless required by law, or

3.

the tax consequences of contributions to or benefits paid from the Plan.

J.

Tax Consequences Not Guaranteed. Neither the County, the Board of Supervisors, an Employer, the Plan, the Plan Administrator, nor any other person connected with any such person or entity guarantees that Plan benefits are or will be excludable from a Covered Employee's gross income for federal, state, or local income tax purposes, or that any other tax treatment is or will be applicable or available. Covered Employees themselves shall determine whether Plan benefits are excludable for these purposes, and shall notify the Plan Administrator if they have reason to believe a payment is not excludable. If the Plan Administrator determines at any time after the end of a Plan Year that contributions to the Plan or benefits paid exceeded limits allowed by law for any reason including, but not limited to, erroneous information, administrative error or failure to satisfy prohibitions on discrimination, then affected Covered Employees shall:

1.

pay any local, state, and federal income taxes and related penalties and interest due with respect to the excess contributions or benefits, and

2.

reimburse the Employer for the Employee's share of any local, state, and federal tax contributions the Employer would have withheld or other applicable deductions the Employer would have taken had the excess contributions or benefits been treated as taxable income.

K.

Nondiscrimination. If, in the judgment of the Plan Administrator, the Plan may fail to meet the requirements of Section 129(d) of the Code, the Plan Administrator will take such action as it deems appropriate to assure compliance with such requirements. The action taken by the Plan Administrator may include, without limitation, a modification of the elections of certain Covered Employees who are defined as "highly compensated employees" under Code Section 414(q). Such action may be taken by the Plan Administrator without consent of the affected Covered Employee.

L.

Participating Employers. With the County's consent, any Employer may adopt or withdraw from this Plan. Each Participating Employer shall file with the Plan Administrator a notice of adoption specifying:

1.

the effective date of its adoption, and

2.

any other information the Plan Administrator may require to carry out its duties under the Plan. Except for functions reserved to the County, the Plan Administrator has exclusive authority over all Plan matters and acts as agent of all Employers that have at any time adopted the Plan.

An adopting Employer may withdraw from Plan participation by giving the County and the Plan Administrator 60 days advance written notice of its withdrawal. Similarly, the County may terminate an Employer's Plan participation by giving the Employer and the Plan Administrator 60 days advance written notice of the termination. Upon an Employer's withdrawal or termination of participation, the Plan Administrator must provide the Employer with copies of all records that the Plan Administrator determines necessary for the Employer to terminate and administer its portion of the Plan. An Employer's withdrawal or termination of Plan participation operates only as to that Employer's Employees.

(Ord. 2008-0014 §§ 9, 10 (part), 2008.)