RPLG Partner Ryan McGinley-Stempel and Of Counsel Steve Cikes spoke on vested pension rights at the County Counsels’ Association of California Spring 2022 Employment Law Study Section Meeting on February 24-25 at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey.
In the process of attempting to insert a legal framework in the vesting doctrine, the Cal Fire Court significantly limits the grounds under which a benefit can become vested.
Although the point is sometimes lost in the debate, employees also have an interest in making sure their benefits are adequately funded and jobs aren’t vaporized or employee contribution rates increased dramatically to feed the pension beast.
In its decision, the court found that “under certain limited circumstances,” a vested right to retiree health benefits may be implied into formal legislation adopted by a public agency’s governing body.
Increasing pension and retiree health costs are eroding government-provided services at an alarming rate.
At least in the short run, Wisconsin makes a rational discussion of the problems inherent in public-sector labor relations more intractable because of Governor Scott Walker’s extremist views and the heavy-handed way in which he has delivered them.
This article focuses on the coming fights over the validity of initiative measures affecting pensions, in the face of claims that they undermine collective bargaining obligations, and on how the inevitable legal battles may help clarify what role voters are permitted to play in setting other matters within the scope of bargaining.
