FEA Disappointed in Circuit Court Ruling

NO INJUNCTION, PENSION REQUIREMENT BEGINS

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TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Education Association (FEA) was disappointed that Leon Circuit Judge Jackie Fulford failed to issue an injunction early today protecting the salaries of public employees in the Florida Retirement System (FRS) while a lawsuit brought by FEA and joined by other groups makes its way through the court system.

Beginning today, the 562,000 active members of the FRS will have 3 percent of their salary deducted as a “contribution” toward their retirement benefit. Ron Meyer, the attorney arguing the case for FEA on Thursday, expressed concern that if that money went into the retirement system, there would be no mechanism available to return the money to employees upon prevailing in the lawsuit. Judge Fulford’s decision today means that 3-percent deduction goes into the state retirement fund and there will likely need to be legal action to return that money to employees if FEA prevails in the case.

FEA is seeking to stop the 3 percent pay cut on teachers, school employees and other workers imposed by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott. The lawsuit asserts that the Legislature enacted legislation that was unconstitutional when that body required the salary cut. The lawsuit further contends that the actions by the Legislature to reduce the cost-of-living benefits of those employees were also unconstitutional.

“This will not stop us from fighting to make Governor Rick Scott and legislative leaders live up to the promises made to our teachers, law-enforcement officers, firefighters and other employees,” said FEA President Andy Ford. "They created a budget deficit by giving tax breaks to corporate special interests and then tried to solve their problem on the backs of Florida's working families.”

“While we are disappointed that the court didn’t take action to ensure the availability of funds to pay back to employees if we prevail in the lawsuit, this is a minor setback and cannot be viewed as a determination that our claims are not just,” Meyer said.

The lawsuit alleges that Florida law says that FRS is a fund in which employees do not have to contribute part of their salaries and describes that as a contractual obligation. The suit says the Legislature’s action unconstitutionally impairs those contractual rights for current employees in the retirement system. Fulford set October 26 as a date to hear the full lawsuit.
The FRS collects retirement money for more that 900 state and local government employers in the state, covering 562,000 active employee members and providing benefits to 219,000 retired members. It has been a non-contributory plan since 1974.

Get more information on the lawsuit

^{The Florida Education Association is the state’s largest association of professional employees, with more than 140,000 members. FEA represents pre K-12 teachers, higher education faculty, educational support professionals, students at our colleges and universities preparing to become teachers and retired education employees.}