Post by 2 Cents on Oct 9, 2010 18:53:50 GMT -5
Court: State owes workers back pay
Appeals panel cuts awards for 'merit' employees, citing grievance deadline
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a ruling that the state owes millions in back pay to state workers, but the decision reduced the $42.4 million judgment by about half.
Filed by current and former state workers, the lawsuit claimed that as many as 15,000 employees worked 40-hour weeks from 1973 to 1993 yet received the same pay as others in similar jobs who logged only 37.5 hours a week.
The trial court in Marion County had granted back pay to all affected employees for 20 years. But the Court of Appeals ruled that some of the affected employees, who worked for various agencies, should receive only about two months' back pay based on their employment classification, while others will receive the much larger amount.
"It truly is depending upon where they worked," said John Kautzman, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys.
Workers in the group whose award was reduced -- "merit" employees -- were not all unionized, he said, though some were. They were covered by merit rules that required any grievance over working conditions to be filed within 10 days.
That meant, the Court of Appeals ruled, that they can only receive back pay starting 10 days before the lawsuit was filed in July 1993. The state changed the unequal workweek policy in September 1993.
Kautzman said he was gratified that the Court of Appeals upheld the finding of liability against the state, but he disagreed with the extent that the court trimmed damages for the merit employee group.
"We are reviewing our options as to whether we are going to seek clarification from the court as to the methodology of selecting the proper starting date for the damages calculation," he said, noting that state officials were aware of the unequal pay problem earlier than 1993.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller said he appreciated the court's "measured decision," but he said his staff would "diligently represent the state and taxpayers' interests to the highest court, if necessary."
Marion Superior Court Judge John Hanley ruled against the state in July 2009 after a four-day trial. The large judgment has been stayed while the state appeals the outcome of the class-action lawsuit, and Friday's Court of Appeals ruling may not be the final word.
The three-judge panel, led by Judge Terry A. Crone, acknowledged the large disparity in back pay that the two classifications of workers may now receive, but the ruling says those two groups were governed by different rules and laws.
Nonmerit employees will still be allotted about $18.7 million, depending upon each member's work history.
But the Court of Appeals has ordered the trial court to recalculate how much the merit employee group is entitled to. That means its members could receive just a fraction of their previous $23.7 million share of damages, and possibly as little as $1 million.
Appeals panel cuts awards for 'merit' employees, citing grievance deadline
The Indiana Court of Appeals on Friday upheld a ruling that the state owes millions in back pay to state workers, but the decision reduced the $42.4 million judgment by about half.
Filed by current and former state workers, the lawsuit claimed that as many as 15,000 employees worked 40-hour weeks from 1973 to 1993 yet received the same pay as others in similar jobs who logged only 37.5 hours a week.
The trial court in Marion County had granted back pay to all affected employees for 20 years. But the Court of Appeals ruled that some of the affected employees, who worked for various agencies, should receive only about two months' back pay based on their employment classification, while others will receive the much larger amount.
"It truly is depending upon where they worked," said John Kautzman, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys.
Workers in the group whose award was reduced -- "merit" employees -- were not all unionized, he said, though some were. They were covered by merit rules that required any grievance over working conditions to be filed within 10 days.
That meant, the Court of Appeals ruled, that they can only receive back pay starting 10 days before the lawsuit was filed in July 1993. The state changed the unequal workweek policy in September 1993.
Kautzman said he was gratified that the Court of Appeals upheld the finding of liability against the state, but he disagreed with the extent that the court trimmed damages for the merit employee group.
"We are reviewing our options as to whether we are going to seek clarification from the court as to the methodology of selecting the proper starting date for the damages calculation," he said, noting that state officials were aware of the unequal pay problem earlier than 1993.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller said he appreciated the court's "measured decision," but he said his staff would "diligently represent the state and taxpayers' interests to the highest court, if necessary."
Marion Superior Court Judge John Hanley ruled against the state in July 2009 after a four-day trial. The large judgment has been stayed while the state appeals the outcome of the class-action lawsuit, and Friday's Court of Appeals ruling may not be the final word.
The three-judge panel, led by Judge Terry A. Crone, acknowledged the large disparity in back pay that the two classifications of workers may now receive, but the ruling says those two groups were governed by different rules and laws.
Nonmerit employees will still be allotted about $18.7 million, depending upon each member's work history.
But the Court of Appeals has ordered the trial court to recalculate how much the merit employee group is entitled to. That means its members could receive just a fraction of their previous $23.7 million share of damages, and possibly as little as $1 million.