UNIONS SUING VENTURA COUNTY; PENSIONS COULD BE HIKED IN WAKE OF HIGH COURT RULING.Byline: David Greenberg The creator of this article, or someone who has substantially contributed to it, may have a conflict of interest regarding its subject matter. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. Daily News Staff Writer Riding the crest of a 1997 state Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for richer pensions for nearly 700 sheriff's deputies, a dozen unions have filed suit against Ventura County seeking $33.5 million, retroactively ret·ro·ac·tive adj. Influencing or applying to a period prior to enactment: a retroactive pay increase. [French rétroactif, from Latin , for all retirees. The suit, scheduled to be heard Aug. 11, asks Judge Roland Purnell to clarify the high court's ruling, which broadened how deputies' pensions are calculated. In addition to seeking retroactive Having reference to things that happened in the past, prior to the occurrence of the act in question. A retroactive or retrospective law is one that takes away or impairs vested rights acquired under existing laws, creates new obligations, imposes new duties, or attaches a benefits, the lawsuit is seeking to determine whether unused sick leave, vacation time and annual leave can be considered to determine pension payments. ``It brings fairness to the system that hasn't been there before,'' said Barry Hammitt, executive director of the Service Employees International Union Local 998, which represents the more than 4,200 workers covered by the lawsuit. The Supreme Court decision stated that sheriff's deputies could tabulate (1) To arrange data into a columnar format. (2) To sum and print totals. certain expenses, such as buying and cleaning uniforms and special stipends for additional language study and education, in calculating retirement benefits. The county implemented the ruling for all employees who retired on or after Aug. 14, 1997. Pensions are determined by an employee's years of service, age at the time of retirement and the average monthly salary during the highest-paid year. The lawsuit is seeking to include unpaid vacation and sick leave as part of the best year's salary. For instance, a sheriff's deputy who retires at age 50 with 25 years' experience would receive an annual pension totaling about six months of his salary, Hammitt said. The lawsuit seeks richer benefits for all county employees, which would noticeably increase the monthly pension benefit. It also wants those benefits covered by the Supreme Court decision to be retroactive to Aug. 14, 1994. Dennis Slivinski, assistant county counsel, said the court's ruling was not retroactive and therefore applies only to employees who retire on or after Aug. 14. ``We change our rules for the future,'' he said. ``We don't undo the past. Making it retroactive means we have to rewrite history and undo the contracts that have already been paid.'' Slivinski estimated that a union victory would cost the county retirement fund $5.9 million in a one-time payment to cover the retroactive period. It then would cost an estimated $27.6 million to cover the additional benefits for 10 years - $3.35 million a year, plus interest. The Supreme Court ruling applied to Ventura County and 19 other counties covered by the County Employees' Retirement Law of 1937. The suit, filed last Friday, represents Ventura County sheriff's deputies, public defenders public defender, governmental official who represents indigent persons accused of crime. U.S. Supreme Court decisions expanding the right to counsel to pretrial proceedings and holding that a person cannot be sentenced to even one day in jail unless a lawyer was , deputy district attorneys DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. The Act of Congress of March 3, 1815, 2 Story L. U. S. 1530, authorizes and directs the district attorneys of the United States to appoint by warrant, an attorney as their substitute or deputy in all cases when necessary to sue or prosecute for the United , correctional officers and firefighters unions. It also includes the International Union of Operating Engineers The International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) is a labor union within the AFL-CIO representing primarily construction workers who work as heavy equipment operators, mechanics, surveyors, and stationary engineers, who maintain heating and other systems in buildings and Local 501, Specialized Peace Officers' Association of Ventura County, California Ventura County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California (Southern California). It is located on California's Pacific coast, and forms the northwestern part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Nurses' Association and the county Retired Employees Association. It is not known how many retirees would qualify for higher pension because not all have unused vacation, sick or leave time. With $108.2 million in the county's undistributed Adj. 1. undistributed - (of investments) not distributed among a variety of securities undiversified - not diversified earnings account, as of May 31, the Retirement Board has more than enough money to cover costs should it lose the suit, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Van Perris, the county's retirement manager. ``We are overfunded,'' he said. ``And any retroactive payment that is made will be fully recouped from the employer.'' |
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