Two Ways to Play

Rumors I've been hearing for the past two months have finally been publicly confirmed. On Friday, a small blog entry on the Bennett, Hartman, Morris, and Kaplan web site reports that the PERS Coalition has served notice that a class action lawsuit will be filed against the PERS Board on behalf of "window retirees" (those who retired between 4/1/00 and 4/1/04) for violations of Oregon Wage and Hour laws. While I've never seen or heard the details or basis for the claim, this novel approach was used successfully by BHMK representing the Association of Oregon Faculties against the Oregon University System when they attempted to alter the contribution levels for Tier 1 and Tier 2 members who were participating in the OUS "Optional Retirement Plan" (an alternative to PERS). More details on this case will be forthcoming as soon as the case is formally filed. It isn't filed yet because there are certain notification details that the plaintiffs must meet and other legal requirements before the case can be certified as a "class action" and served on the defendants. To the best of my knowledge, the case is fully ready to go. You can read the blog entry that describes the case at the BHMK blogsite .