As reported by NJSpotlight.com, a proposal to move some state and local employees to a new 401(k)-like pension system is gaining support because it has the potential to save billions of dollars. However, long before anything is adopted, it is likely to draw strenuous pushback from the public workers’ labor unions. The recommendation is
As reported by nj.com, with contracts for 49,000 state workers due to expire this June, Governor Chris Christie has publicly proclaimed he wants no pay raises and expects state workers to fork over much more for health and pension benefits. Union leaders say they have had no meetings with the governor’s office and
Employees in New Jersey’s largest state-worker union overwhelmingly ratified a revised contract agreement on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 that defers a raise and trades furloughs this year for future vacation days. With a little over 13,000 votes cast online or by phone by the deadline, the margin was 69 percent to 31 percent according to
On June 3, 2009, the State of New Jersey’s largest public employee union indicated it would accept a wage freeze and unpaid furlough days to help reduce spending under a tentative deal according to Governor Jon Corzine.
Corzine called the agreement with the Communication Workers of America “very important for our budget
New York Governor David Patterson dropped a bombshell on two powerful unions yesterday when he unexpectedly vetoed a routine measure that for nearly thirty (30) years had allowed New York city cops and firefighters to retire with generous pensions.
“These are not routine times,” Paterson said in vetoing the “temporary” measure that, since 1981,
On May 16, 2009, the Public Employment Relations Commission (“PERC”) issued a decision in response to certain unfair practice charges and requests for interim relief filed against the State of New Jersey regarding the imposition of unpaid, “furlough” days.
By way of background, on April 14, 2009, the Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO (“CWA”)
On May 14, 2009, the Appellate Division decided Harry G. Parkin v. Board of Trustees, Public Employees Retirement System, Docket No.: A-2466-07T1. In the case, Harry Parkin appealed from the final agency decision of the Board of Trustees of the Public Employee Retirement System (“Board”) resulting in the partial forfeiture of his service and salary credits. Specifically, Parkin contended that the Board failed to follow its own regulations governing partial forfeiture of pension benefits and further contended that the Board “adopted a rule regarding the partial termination of pension benefits without going through the regulatory process.”
With the exception of a four-year break in service, from 1972 to January 1, 2004, Parkin was continuously employed in various public positions until he retired as Mercer County Chief of Staff. Based upon his veteran’s status, his service time, and additional credit he received as part of an early retirement incentive program, he had accumulated twenty-eight (28) years and nine (9) months of service credit equating to a monthly pension of $5,864.49.
On March 11, 2004, Parkin was indicted by a Federal grand jury and charged with having participated in a wide-ranging, corrupt scheme utilizing his office as Chief of Staff to defraud Mercer County and its citizens. The indictment alleged numerous acts Parkin committed in furtherance of the plan while employed as Chief of Staff. After a jury trial, in March 2005, he was convicted of all charges. In August 2005, he was sentenced to a period of ninety (90) months imprisonment.
The Board considered Parkin’s entitlement to pension benefits at its September 2005 meeting. Applying the factors set forth in N.J.S.A. 43:1-3(c), the Board determined a partial forfeiture was warranted for the period of time Parkin served as Chief of Staff, i.e., from June 1, 1994, to the date of his retirement. As a result, Parkin became ineligible for veteran retirement status and additionally lost early retirement incentives. His monthly pension was significantly reduced and he no longer qualified for lifetime medical benefits.
Thereafter, Parkin appealed to the Office of Administrative Law, wherein he argued that the Board had arbitrarily chosen the forfeiture period to run from his first day as Chief of Staff, rather than the time his misconduct allegedly first occurred, i.e., in September 2000. The Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) initially recommended the Board supplement the record regarding its selection of the date upon which to commence the forfeiture period. In September 2007, the Board filed a supplementary statement of its reasons for selecting the initial date of Parkin’s employment as Chief of Staff as the operative date of forfeiture, relying heavily upon the statements made by the sentencing judge in which he outlined the nature and extent of Parkin’s criminal conduct. Subsequently, the ALJ issued his initial decision in November 2007 ordering forfeiture of all of Parkin’s service from the date he became Chief of Staff. The Board adopted the ALJ’s recommendations and this appeal followed.
Continue Reading Public Employees and Forfeiture of Pension Benefits
On May 12, 2009, Kate Benner published an article entitled “The Public Pension Bomb” in Fortune Magazine. The article addresses how states all across the country, for many years, have been starving their retirement plans. More importantly, however, the article focuses upon how the crisis is playing out in New Jersey, where the bill is