1stRambo
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Yo, the Northern Socialist Democrats are Mad!!!
New Jersey's top court hands Christie win in pension suit
By MICHAEL CATALINI
Jun. 9, 2016 12:49 PM EDT
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Supreme Court delivered a victory Thursday to Gov. Chris Christie and ruled the state does not owe public pensioners cost-of-living payments suspended under a 2011 law.
The 6-1 ruling effectively keeps the state from having its unfunded liability increased by about $17.5 billion and is the second significant victory for Christie over public unions on the pension issue.
Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, writing for the majority, reversed an appellate court's ruling and said there isn't enough proof that lawmakers intended to create a non-forfeitable right to cost-of-living adjustments.
"We conclude that the Legislature retained its inherent sovereign right to act in its best judgment of the public interest and to pass legislation suspending further COLAs. Having determined that there is no contract violation, and because the additional arguments advanced by plaintiffs are not meritorious, we must respect the legislative choice," LaVecchia wrote.
The decision sparked outrage from labor groups that were also plaintiffs in the suit. The head of the state's largest teachers' union called the ruling "despicable" and "theft," and said teachers counted on the increases as part of their compensation.
"This is theft, plain and simple," said New Jersey Education Association President Wendell Steinhauer. "For twenty years, New Jersey's politicians have failed New Jersey's public servants. Now, for the second time in two years, the Supreme Court has done the same thing."
Pat Provnick, 71, of Hammonton, New Jersey, retired in 2000 after 33 years as a teacher, and said the suspension of adjustments has led her to little changes: buying generic items at the grocery store instead of name-brand foods. But it could mean having to move out of her home, which she said is harder to afford because of the suspension.
"Apparently we had a forfeitable promise in this," she said. "I was told this wasn't going to happen."
How much the adjustment would have been worth depended on inflation. Union officials estimate the adjustment was worth about 60 percent of inflation as measured by the consumer price index. In 2015, the index was flat in New Jersey, and about 1.6 percent in 2014.
New Jersey's top court hands Christie win in pension suit
"GTP"
Glad That Is Over
New Jersey's top court hands Christie win in pension suit
By MICHAEL CATALINI
Jun. 9, 2016 12:49 PM EDT
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — The New Jersey Supreme Court delivered a victory Thursday to Gov. Chris Christie and ruled the state does not owe public pensioners cost-of-living payments suspended under a 2011 law.
The 6-1 ruling effectively keeps the state from having its unfunded liability increased by about $17.5 billion and is the second significant victory for Christie over public unions on the pension issue.
Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, writing for the majority, reversed an appellate court's ruling and said there isn't enough proof that lawmakers intended to create a non-forfeitable right to cost-of-living adjustments.
"We conclude that the Legislature retained its inherent sovereign right to act in its best judgment of the public interest and to pass legislation suspending further COLAs. Having determined that there is no contract violation, and because the additional arguments advanced by plaintiffs are not meritorious, we must respect the legislative choice," LaVecchia wrote.
The decision sparked outrage from labor groups that were also plaintiffs in the suit. The head of the state's largest teachers' union called the ruling "despicable" and "theft," and said teachers counted on the increases as part of their compensation.
"This is theft, plain and simple," said New Jersey Education Association President Wendell Steinhauer. "For twenty years, New Jersey's politicians have failed New Jersey's public servants. Now, for the second time in two years, the Supreme Court has done the same thing."
Pat Provnick, 71, of Hammonton, New Jersey, retired in 2000 after 33 years as a teacher, and said the suspension of adjustments has led her to little changes: buying generic items at the grocery store instead of name-brand foods. But it could mean having to move out of her home, which she said is harder to afford because of the suspension.
"Apparently we had a forfeitable promise in this," she said. "I was told this wasn't going to happen."
How much the adjustment would have been worth depended on inflation. Union officials estimate the adjustment was worth about 60 percent of inflation as measured by the consumer price index. In 2015, the index was flat in New Jersey, and about 1.6 percent in 2014.
New Jersey's top court hands Christie win in pension suit
"GTP"
Glad That Is Over
