This week, the California Supreme Court will hear a lawsuit that tests the California Rule, the legal precedent that forbids California government agencies from reducing retirement benefits without offering workers some kind of compensation to offset a loss in income.
As he requested, Gov. Brown will get a chance before leaving office to defend his pension reform and if the court sides with Brown, public employees and retirees should feel nervous.
If the unions win, local governments say they'll "struggle to manage rising pension bills."
Brown’s law scaled back a range of pension benefits for employees hired after 2013. It required them to pay more for their retirement plans and banned agencies from offering air time through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System.
If Brown ultimately wins the case, California government agencies would not have to offer "air time," a benefit that allowed California public employees to purchase credit for their pensions. benefits.
The arguments are set to begin Wednesday.
Read more at the Sacramento Bee.
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