Post by Star Reporter on Jul 28, 2009 15:16:19 GMT -5
July 28, 2009
Judge rules state workers owed $42 million
By Jon Murray
jon.murray@indystar.com
A Marion County judge today issued a $42.4 million ruling against the state of Indiana in a class-action lawsuit by current and former state workers who said they were underpaid for 20 years.
The lawsuit, which has been pending for years, went on trial over four days in March before Marion Superior Court Judge John Hanley. He issued his verdict today.
The $42,422,788 judgment was based on estimates that as many as 15,000 state employees worked 40-hour weeks from 1973 to 1993, yet received the same pay as others in similar jobs who worked only 37.5 hours. The plaintiffs' consultant had estimated total unpaid compensation at $42 million to $82 million.
Hanley's ruling could be a bitter pill for the state amid a recession that complicated negotiations earlier this year over Indiana's $27.8 billion two-year budget.
"This amount will not be widely appreciated for that reason," the judge wrote, but added: "However, these are political considerations and not legal ones. The parties have had numerous opportunities to resolve this litigation over an extended number of years, in good economic times as well as bad, without the necessity of judicial intervention, and they have failed to do so. This decision today is the necessary result of that failure."
The Indiana attorney general could challenge the verdict in the appellate courts and seek to delay payment. Bryan Corbin, Attorney General Greg Zoeller's spokesman, says the office is reviewing the decision and an appeal is likely.
A year ago, the state announced a settlement in the 16-year-old suit. But officials later backed out after compensation claims by former workers exceeded the settlement's $8.5 million limit.
The state ended the unequal pay system in 1993 when it mandated 37.5-hour work weeks for all employees.
Judge rules state workers owed $42 million
By Jon Murray
jon.murray@indystar.com
A Marion County judge today issued a $42.4 million ruling against the state of Indiana in a class-action lawsuit by current and former state workers who said they were underpaid for 20 years.
The lawsuit, which has been pending for years, went on trial over four days in March before Marion Superior Court Judge John Hanley. He issued his verdict today.
The $42,422,788 judgment was based on estimates that as many as 15,000 state employees worked 40-hour weeks from 1973 to 1993, yet received the same pay as others in similar jobs who worked only 37.5 hours. The plaintiffs' consultant had estimated total unpaid compensation at $42 million to $82 million.
Hanley's ruling could be a bitter pill for the state amid a recession that complicated negotiations earlier this year over Indiana's $27.8 billion two-year budget.
"This amount will not be widely appreciated for that reason," the judge wrote, but added: "However, these are political considerations and not legal ones. The parties have had numerous opportunities to resolve this litigation over an extended number of years, in good economic times as well as bad, without the necessity of judicial intervention, and they have failed to do so. This decision today is the necessary result of that failure."
The Indiana attorney general could challenge the verdict in the appellate courts and seek to delay payment. Bryan Corbin, Attorney General Greg Zoeller's spokesman, says the office is reviewing the decision and an appeal is likely.
A year ago, the state announced a settlement in the 16-year-old suit. But officials later backed out after compensation claims by former workers exceeded the settlement's $8.5 million limit.
The state ended the unequal pay system in 1993 when it mandated 37.5-hour work weeks for all employees.