Six California superior court judges have filed suit against the state of California, State Controller John Chiang, the Judicial Council and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) over the application of a state pension reform act to them.
The Public Employees Pension Reform Act went into effect on Jan. 1, 2013; Courthouse News Service reports that the judges, who were elected in 2012, argue that it was applied to them retroactively. This, they say, violated not only the new law itself, but also the state constitution.
The judges say that by Jan. 1, 2013, they already belonged to California’s Judges Retirement System II (JRSII), and the application of the Pension Reform Act to them increased their withholding but at the same time cut their salaries and their pension benefits. The judges also allege that their treatment differs from that of the California judges appointed to the bench in 2012, who participate in JRSII and to whom the Pension Reform Act was not applied.
The judges are Alameda County Superior Court Judge Tara Flanagan, Imperial County Superior Court Judge Louis Brooks Anderholt, Kings County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Giuliani, and Yuba County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter, San Diego Superior Court Judge Gary Kreep and Tehama County Superior Court Judge Matthew McGlynn.
The Public Employees Pension Reform Act went into effect on Jan. 1, 2013; Courthouse News Service reports that the judges, who were elected in 2012, argue that it was applied to them retroactively. This, they say, violated not only the new law itself, but also the state constitution.
The judges say that by Jan. 1, 2013, they already belonged to California’s Judges Retirement System II (JRSII), and the application of the Pension Reform Act to them increased their withholding but at the same time cut their salaries and their pension benefits. The judges also allege that their treatment differs from that of the California judges appointed to the bench in 2012, who participate in JRSII and to whom the Pension Reform Act was not applied.
The judges are Alameda County Superior Court Judge Tara Flanagan, Imperial County Superior Court Judge Louis Brooks Anderholt, Kings County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Giuliani, and Yuba County Superior Court Judge Benjamin Wirtschafter, San Diego Superior Court Judge Gary Kreep and Tehama County Superior Court Judge Matthew McGlynn.
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