We'll move over here, archived 'whats new' stuff -- for the yearbook and time capsule.

Firefighters win at Supreme Court (again)!

January 29, 2010 Today, the New Hampshire Supreme Court agreed with the PFFNH that the LGC must comply with the right-to-know law. Hopefully ending an eight year legal battle, the Court confirms what the Firefighters have been saying all along : the LGC is a quasi-governmental agency and is not above the law. The decision is here. As well, congratulations to the Court monitors and assistants for reaching a tentative agreement with the Judicial Branch - Attorney John Krupski headed up those talks for the SEA.

Court orders expedited hearing on SEA's failure to rehire lawsuit.

January 24, 2010. On Friday, the Merrimack County Superior Court issued its 'Orders of Notice' and granted the SEA's request for an expedited hearing on its lawsuit which claims that the State is not following the law that gives preferential 're-hiring' rights to laid off State workers. A hearing has been scheduled for February 5th and we appreciate the Court's sensitivity to the timing issues this case presents. After all, when one is not re hired as they should have been, they often move on to other opportunities. As well, the fast track treatment also speaks to the Court's initial view of the merits of the case. A related case is also before the Court on the claim that failing to re hire simply because the new job would mean a promotion violates HB2. Arguments were heard on that case last Friday and a decision is likely to be issued soon. You can follow these cases through the documents posted on the downloads page.

Also in the news , the US Supreme Court issued its much awaited decision on a free speech case . This decision permits corporations (and Unions) to ignore campaign financing laws and to spend millions on attack ads in the closing days of campaigns. As corporations can easily outspend Unions, this case is seen as quite a blow. Read the case (all 183 pages!) here.

Arbitration wins and (more) lawsuits!

January 15, 2010. The Derry Firefighters, IAFF Local 4392 , won a decisive arbitration victory concerning incentive pay. This decision establishes favorable arbitral precedent for Labor Unions on issues of past practice and contract interpretation. Read the decision on our downloads page (scroll down to our 'other cases' section). Congratulations to Local 4392 and Attorney John Krupski.

The State Employees' Association continued its fight for those that lost their job in the recent rounds of layoffs. Today they filed a lawsuit in Merrimack County Superior Court because the State has refused to apply the provisions of House Bill 2 which require the State to rehire laid off State employees to vacant positions within State government. Read the filing and keep up to date on the case at our downloads page (scroll to 'SEA HB2/rehire lawsuit' section).

New Year brings two big Union court victories!

January 4, 2010. Big wins for Pennsylvania and California unions fending off State attempts to furlough State workers. In California, a trial court judge issued an order (mandamus) overturning the Governor's decision to furlough workers as violating the clear mandate of existing State law. In Pennsylvania, Unions were successful in preventing the State from 'furloughing' state workers on the basis of a state law that requires a passed budget in order to issue paychecks. Not so, says the Judge : the FLSA requires payment for work performed and this federal law 'preempts' (or supercedes) State law to the contrary. This big FLSA victory is on our downloads page (scroll down to the 'other stuff' section).

Prescription drug coverage changes alert !

December 29, 2009. Effective January 1, 2010, the Local Government Center plans on dramatically changing the prescription drug benefit negotiated into many contracts statewide. Many municipal employees have received letters from CVS/Caremark on these "required" changes and we have prepared a strategy and response to attack this unlawful maneuver. Read our Legal Alert here. We are advised that these changes are not being implemented for State employees. Stay tuned.

Also,the NHRS has issued its latest CAFR. Read it here.

Judge rules against LGC

December 15,2009. Judge Larry Smukler has ruled against the Local Government Center's attempt to block the Secretary of State's investigation into LGC's management of its health insurance trust fund. The ruling now clears the way for State investigators to access information underlying the allegation that LGC uses health insurance money to finance unrelated ventures instead of returning those excess funds back to New Hampshire cities and towns as required by RSA 5-B:5,I(c). The ruling is on the downloads page. Stay tuned, much more to come!

Lawsuit(s) update and more.....

December 11, 2009. With the actual language of hundreds of new bills released yesterdayandthe 2010 legislative session kicking off with a House session January 6th, much of 'what's new' is on the legislative front (See our updatedlegislative alert page for more). But first, here's an update on other happenings of interest to New Hampshire's public sector labor community.

The lawsuit filed by the New Hampshire Retirement Security Coalition (NHRSC) is winding its way through Merrimack County Superior Court. This Constitutional challenge to HB1645, including the drastic changes to the definition of 'earnable compensation', will see some action in January with a preliminary pretrial conference scheduled for Jan 25th. Hopefully, we can postition the case to be heard in a fashion similar to the SEA's case (under 65, retiree case) where through motion practice (no trial) a decision is likely much sooner. We filed a comprehensive reply brief in the SEA case recently and we are hopeful that a successful resolution there will pay big dividends in the NHRSC case. The hearing on the SEA retiree case has been postponed from Dec. 17 to Jan 18: moredetails (and the filings) are available on our downloads page.

The Waiting Game continues: we still await a decision from the NH Supreme Court on the PFFNH right to know case against the Local Government Center (LGC), which was argued to the Court on October 8th. (argument available here). As well, Judge Smukler has yet to issue a ruling in the Superior Court case where the LGC has refused to to release similar information requested by the NH Secretary of State. These two cases are on the 'any day now' watch list.

Speaking of the LGC, New Hampshire Public Radio did a storythis week on the recent disclosure by LGC that they do, in fact, use money paid into their health insurance trust fund (HealthTrust, the fund that provides health insurance for just about every New Hampshire City and Town) for other purposes : an allegation raised by PFFNH over the last several years. In addition, LGC has now released documents (available here) that prove what PFFNH had suspected all along. The story is available on ourdownloads page , scroll to "PFFNH v. LGC- HealthTrust" and look for the NHPR December 10th piece. Hmmm, the making of yet another lawsuit....we'll see!

Finally, still no word as well on the JUA case - a case challenging HB2's attempt to confiscate private funds and a case with significant potential ramifications to the other "contract clause' cases now pending. And, the US Supreme Court issued a decision recently that may help in New Hampshire, where certain agencies (PELRB?) seem to believe they can act through rulemaking (and otherwise) to subvert their legislative grant of authority. See ourdownloads page for more on both these developments.

LGC and SEA , yes there's more.....

October 30, 2009. The New Hampshire Secretary of State has gone 'all in'responding to the LGC 's weak attempt to explain how it's trying to respond to the State's subpoena seeking production of documents regarding the money flow of taxpayer/employee health insurance premium dollars. Read the media coverage on our downloads page. LGC is on the run and look for more developments over the weekend as today's deadline for production of those records has come and gone. See Monitor Article "Agency Ignores Subpoena". Stay tuned!

The SEAhas filed suit challenging the suspension of 'bumping rights'. Read the petition on our downloads page. The claim is the same as other Union challenges to recent legislative attacks on labor : government must keep its word.

Finally, the COLA commission met last week and has decided (rightfully so) to hold off any formal action until the lawsuit filed by labor's Retirement Coalition is resolved. Our downloads page has a section on this case. And congratulations to Attorney Richard Molan for , once again, being recognized as one of New England's 'Super Lawyers' for 2009 ; oh yes, Attorney Krupski's victory streak continued last week with another victory, winning a firefighter's job back following a wrongful termination -- the decision is on our case studies page. Look for more over the weekend!

SEA , LGC and more .........

Ocotber 18 , 2009. The vote is in - members of theState Employees' Association have rejected the tentative agreement which called for 19 furlough days and the Governor has responded , not by offering any new ideas , but by simply carrying out his threats of layoffs.SEA leaders have appeared on recentWMUR Close Up episodes and did a great job of explaining that there are more options than just furloughs versus layoffs; see the SEA website for more. And, speaking of options, SEA and SEIU legal teams are taking a hard look at possible legal challenges to the layoffs since the mandate to save 25 million dollars has already been reached! Stay tuned.

The SEA filed motions in Merrimack County last Friday asking that the judge rule in favor of the SEA retirees (under age 65) who have been unfairly taxed by provisions of HB2 that reduces their pension checks by up to 130$ per month. See our downloads page for the details.

The Local Government Center remains in the news : today Maura Carroll , LGC's interim executive director , offered a response to theConcord Monitor's recent (and excellent) editorial excoriating the LGC for its continued attempts to evade the right-to-know law. The LGC response goes something like this : (1) the LGC should not have to give out financial information regarding its "business" (HealthTrust) of selling health insurance coverage to NH cities and towns because that would put the LGC at a competitive disadvantage in relation to their "competitors" (whoever they are??); and (2) the LGC has never attempted to change RSA 91-A in order to escape the law's reach.

Huh?

First, the HealthTrust issue was resolved several years ago when the PFFNH prevailed before the NH Supreme Court -- the current issue, which the LGC response ignores, involves the LGC's claim that the NHMA (its lobbying arm) is not covered by RSA 91-A and that the LGC (the parent company) does not have to reveal salary information of its employees as is required of all otherpublic bodies. The Monitor editorial has it right : the current legal challenge launched by the LGC is yet another attempt to evade the law!

Second, memories are running short at the LGC if they really believe that they have never lobbied the legislature to exclude the LGC from the right-to-know law. As detailed in ourlegislative alert page, HB53 was championed by the LGC in thecurrentand 2009 legislative sessions -- this bill, as introduced, would have stricken from the definition of a "public body" any "agency or authority" of government ; this language in current law was precisely why the Superior Court ruled that HealthTrust was covered under 91-A. (See our downloads page for more).

The LGC response, while attempting to answer the question about the costs of itslobbying and legal services and whether they are funded , in part,by health insuranc premiums (more on that to follow), ignores the related questions raised by the NH Secretary of State who is investigating this very issue. See Union Leader coverage here and the Telegraph's take here. Incredibly, the LGC failed to appear at a scheduled hearing to answer these questions. Stay tuned!

Finally, the PFFNH and SEA should be congratulated for their efforts on the Retiree Health Insurance Commission. The Commission met last week and appears to be close to proposing a 'Retiree Medical Trust' model suggested by these labor groups. See the Union Leader and Telegraph articles for more.

Lots goin' on.....

October 11, 2009. New Hampshire public sector labor news has been very active in recent days ... Here are some of the highlights :

State Employees -- The voting has closed on the new proposed contract which pits layoffs against furloughs. The results are expected to be close and we'll post here the outcome following the count which takes place Monday afternoon, following a rally sponsored by the SEA at the State House. Monitor coverage on the vote here. Kevin Landrigan of the Nashua Telegraph makes his prediction here. Stay tuned!

The SEA won a significant overtime arbitration case last weekon behalf ofmembers working at Corrections. Attorney Krupski successfully argued that a long standing overtime administration policy could not be changed without the SEA's consent. The arbitrator also awarded back pay for lost overtime opportunities - a remedy not often granted and one that could amount to a major leauge sized back pay award. The decision is under the SEA section of our downloads page.

The SEA class action lawsuit on behalf or retirees (under 65) will heat up this week. The SEA will file a motion for summary judgment on Wednesday urging the Court to order the State (and Retirement Sysytem) to stop reducing their pension checks under the guise of health insurance copayments. The State's papers will be due in early November and the Court is expected to hear arguments on the case on December 17th. The downloads page will have updates on the filings as they happen.

The PELRB is at it again? The SEA has twice now won victories at the Supreme Court upholding the contract bar rule but our labor board has , for a third time now, allowed an election challenge to occur outside the statute's bounds . There's more on this saga on the downloads page but expect another round of appeals to the Supreme Court.

PFFNH / Local Government Center --As reported here last week, the Secretary of State's office is investigating the LGC over allegations that health insurance premiums are being used for purposes not related to providing health insurance. This news followed the unflattering report that charges were dropped against an LGC employee arrested after a serious information breach occured at the LGC. (Story here).Investigators called the LGC security policies "sloppy" and "careless".Oh yes, there was also the LGC loss at the Legislature on HB53 (See Sept 27th update on legislative alert page).

The bad news continued for the LGC last week as the PFFNH's right to know case was argued before the State's Supreme Court. The LGC attorney had a very tough time explaining to the Court how itcould be that 2 of 5 LGC subsidiaries (including the NHMA) could avoid 91-A when all other LGC entitities are covered under the law, are owned and managed by a public body (LGC) and utilize public money to finance their ventures? The downloads page has a section on the case -- the oral argument is a must view!

Troopers / NHTA -- The State has recently filed a case with the PELRB seeking to decertify the NEPBA units comprised of former Highway Patrol employees. Now that Safety has reorganized and eliminated the Highway Patrol division (those officers are now 'regulatory Troopers'), the State argues that the NHTA unit should now include these employees. NEPBA has responded alleging that Safety has unfairly spoken about its plans directly with these regulatory Troopers. NHTA is watching this closely and a hearing has been scheduled before the PELRB on October 21st.

Finally, Trooper Jill Rockey was confirmed last Wednesday by the Executive Council for a seat on the NHRS Board of Trustees. You go Jill!

Make sure to check out the newly revamped downloads page and the legislative alert page has been updated as well.

Labor Joins Forces to Fend Off Pension Attack

June 3, 2008. The Legislature passes HB1645, the so called 'omnibus retirement bill' that originally sought to gut the pension benefits public employees have earned.Due to the unprecedented joint efforts of public sector Unions through the New Hampshshire Retirement Security Coalition, the efforts of the Local Government Center were thwarted -- not because of union muscle, but because the Coalition succeeded in educating key legislators about what was real and what was mere party politics. The Coalition, whose legal strategy was spearheaded by Attorneys Molan and Milner, fought back three major attacks : the effort to require Firefighters and Police to work longer for smaller pensions (we win!), the attempt to have labor thrown off the majority positionof the Board of Trustees (we win!), and the bold attack to cap pensions by not including overtime and other monies earned by the employee (and money the employee paid 9.3% of into the system!)(we win!). The Coalition also succeeded in preservinga COLA for current retirees. But, as widely reported in the press, the LGC has already started the cry of "Wait until Next Year". Labor certainly cannot sit back and wait. For more, see ourdownloads page for documentaion including the final bill.

Governor signs evergreen bill.

July 15, 2008. Today Governor Lynch signed into law the evergreen bill - HB1436. From now own when acontract expires, public employers will no longer hold 'step increases' over the head of Union negotiators. In an attempt to truly level the playing field when contract talks stall and the 'status quo' takes over, the legislature has weighed in and confirmed that the New Hampshire way is to allow step increases to continue until a successor contract is inked. Fairness wins for public employees -- Union legislative initiatives defeat the LGC (again)! Read more on ourdownloads page.

Retirement Bill May Have "Unintended Consequences"

August 1, 2008. While retirees, soon to be retirees, Cities and Towns, and the Retirement System itself continue to decipher the real effects of HB1645, the 'buzz' about the bill is all about section 33 or the'AFCSpiking Charge' -- the assessment the System will now bill to employers "guilty" of "padding" the pensions of its public employees. The original intent of section 33, expressed by many legislators during the HB1645 debates, was to have the employer who decides to allow "gaming" of the system to be charged for its cost. However, the language of the bill (the proverbial, devil in the details) actually goes much futher and charges the employer for anything paid in excess of "base pay" instead of a retiree's actual highest 3 years of pay (how did the LGC miss that?). This likely unintended consequence promises to give rise to further legislative action, 'manuevering'at reirement time and , perhaps, litigation. Be aware, this section is effective August 30th and effects only retirements under contracts effective after that date! Questions? Contact us, we've been there at every step of the way and will continue to monitor and update.

LGC Information breach / arrest made

Sept. 5, 2008 A major breach of personal information belonging to 190,000 public workers occurred at the Local Government Center --the "union" most N.H. Cities and Towns belong to. Even though the LGC said no breach ocurred, an LGC worker has been arrested. Stay tuned for more.

NHRS will sue to test constitutionality of HB1516

September 11, 2008. The New Hampshire Retirement Systemannounced that it will go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the law passed last session which requires the NHRS to divest all money in its portflio that has a connection with the Sudan. The issue is whether the Legislature has that power inlight of Part 1, Art. 36-a of the NHConstitution which only permits the NHRS todirect its investments andonly allows for divestementor diversionsof pension assets for the sole purpose of providing benefits -- not for political reasons. Relatedly, an assessment is ongoing as to whether certain portions ofHB1645 (including the 250 million dollar transfer out of the Special Account)violate this same 36-a provision. Stay tuned!

Congratulations to 'Superlawyer' Richard Molan.

November 6, 2008. Once again we are pleased to announce that Attorney Molan has been named one of New England's top labor attorneys bySuperLawyer Magazine.Congratulations Richard!

Attorney Krupski completes Law Enforcement Labor Issues National training course - including vital updates on use of force issues.

November 14, 200. Jake is back from Vegas where he attended a National Seminar on Law Enforcement Labor Issues. Put on by LRIS, the training uncluded vital updates on Internal Affairs matters and the use of deadly force. Attorney Krupski counsels many law enforcement Unions and their members in New Hampshire. Jake looks forward to putting these legal updates to good use on behalf of his law enforcement clients.

Governor's Budget address

November 21, 2008. The good news is that there are no layoffs suggested -- yet. The value of having a Union and solid contract in place in troubled times cannot be understated.Read the Governor'saddress and the the executive orders on ordered cutbacks. Executive Order2008-10 Executive Order 2008-11

Welcome aboard New Hampshire Trooper's Association!

December 3, 2008. We are truly honored to have been asked to serve New Hampshire State Troopers as outside General Counsel. The firm is eager to put our experience to work to defend and advance the legal rights of New Hampshire's Troopers. We stand ready to earn the trust of your fine organization and look forward to a long and successful relationship. Stay tuned for more as we continue to retool and update our services for the unionized law enforcement community.

Firefighters defeat LGC in right to know case (again)!

January 13, 2009 The Local Government's attempt to avoid the reach of our right to know law is defeated (again). See ourdownloads page for the opinion. More to follow, but this is a major victory for NH public employees who simply want to see where why and how their health inurance premiums are actually being spent.Anything else you want to know about the NHMA? Just ask! Also, stay tuned to ourlegislative alert page as we track HB53 which may have the unintended consequence of overturning these well reasoned Court opinions! (NPR coverage here).(Monitor coverage here).(Telegraph coverage here).

SEA wins at Supreme Court!

January 14, 2009. The SEA has successfully overturned a decision of the PELRB that would have had dramatic adverse consequences if allowed to stand. Imagine having to have your new contract actually signed at a formal ceremony before it takes effect or face challenges from rival Unions - even when your contract is agreed upon and funded! Thedecision is key for pubilc sector Unions that now may actually rely upon New Hampshire contract law and existing statutes and not be subject the subjective beliefs of 'what is right' by the PELRB. (Monitor coverage here).(Regional coverage here).

Attorney Milner to present at national conference.

January 23, 2009. Once again, Attorney Glenn Milner has been asked to present at a seminar before anational gathering of attorneys who representIAFF locals. Mr. Milner will speak along with IAFF Legal Counsel Kurt Rumsfeld about the constitutional protections regarding privacy rights and employer provided computers, emails and text messages.

Federal Stimulus Plan agreed upon

February 12, 2009 This massive legislative proposal is all but a done deal,Congress is poised to pass the bill. What does it mean for New Hampshire's public sector labor community ? Not only a jumpstart to our economy (hopefully) but the package includes8.8 billion dollars earmarked for local communities to address public safety needs, expanded health insurance and unemployment benefits to those facing layoffs, and a waiver of the matching fund requirement for SAFER grants. See theIAFF new release for more.

Governor delivers budget proposal.

February 12, 2009. The Governor'splan to balance the State budget was delivered today to the NH Legislature. As the proposal includes cuts in State appropriations to local Cities and Towns, this will not only affect our hard working State Employees and State Troopers, but also all public sector employees - especially, Police, Fire and Municipal Workers. The plan includes :

* Lay offs (up to 300 jobs, most at HHS and corrections)

* Eliminatingbumping rights

* merging all statewide law enforcement

* closing the Tobey school (50 jobs)

* closing Lakes Region correctional site (90 jobs)

* reducing retirement contributions for municipal employees by 5%

*increasing health insurance co pays

Now the proposal goes before the legislature , much work to do over the next few months !

Manchester mayor proposes furloughs-- Not So Fast!

February 20, 2009.The mayorproposes the furlough (or temporary lay off) ofevery City worker... wait a minute, didn't the State try thisonlyto lose at theSupreme Court? Hold on Mr. Mayor,this may cause more trouble than it's worth.Our lawyers were there then and will be there again.

How much is Retirement spending on efforts by Legislators to reduce benefits?

February 27, 2009. A fair question -- every time a request is made of the Retirement System for actuarial (or staff) assistance, it costs money. We are digging into this, inquiries have been made. Stay tuned!

Attorney Molan resigns from PELRB

March 6, 2009. With mixed emotions, for sure, Dick Molan sent his resignation letter to the Governor and Council today. Attorney Molan has served on the PELRB as Labor's representative for more than22 years with distinction and has guided with care the evolution of both RSA 273-A (Dick helped write the original law) as well as the Labor Board itself. From the kid on the Board under Chairman Ed (the "General") Haseltine to the sage veteran working alongside current Chairman Jack Buckley, Dick has seen it all over the years and will be missed by those fortunate enough to have appeared before him. With the ('knock on wood') success of his current law firm and the concentration of his law practice on public sector labor law, Attorney Molan believes the interests of the labor movement and the PELRB are better servedby exclusively assuming the role as advocate for the public sector labor community.

Tax Caps in Trouble?

March 22, 2009 A superior court judge has ruled that the tax cap proposal in Concord is unconstitutional ! This is good news for the public sector labor community as tax caps are increasingly popular initiatives to take away the discretion of elected officials to do what's right in their communities. Read the decision here. This decision may serve to blunt the growing use of tax caps and existing tax cap communities like Derry, Nashua, Rochester, Laconia and Dover might well think of mounting a similar challenge.Stay tuned !

Boston Police Patrolman's Association win major overtime case ! (this could have ramifications in N.H.)

March 17, 2009 The Supreme Court in Massachusetts ruled yesterday that the City of Boston may owe unionizedpolice officers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime pay. The decision states that the City's unilateral decision to adopt certain pro-employer overtime provisions of the FLSA constitutes an unfair labor practice because of the Union's right under law to negotiate these terms and conditions of employment. Read the decision here. Because unions in New Hampshire enjoy similar rights, this decision would be persuasive authority for the PELRB to rule against any New Hampshire City or Town that attempts to bypass the union and force FLSA type provisions upon its unionized work force. Great outcome!

Troopers win important PELRB case!

April 7, 2009 The State of New Hampshire committed an unfair labor practice, says the PELRB, in a case brought by the New Hampshire Troopers Association. This decision establishes the rule that it is illegal for a publicemployer to criticize an employee (or issue a negative evaluation) for conduct authorized by a collective bargaining agreement. In this case, Troopers were utilizing sick leave and call back rights under the contract but in a manner that, apparently, upset the boss. Too bad! The case also reconfirms that where a contract and employer policies address an issue (like call backs), the contract controls, not the policies (here State administrative rules). Nice win for our Troopers!

Increase in employee pension rates in the news!

April 19, 2009. As reported here in the April 3 LegislativeAlert, increasing the percentage by 2 points that public employees pay into the retirement system in order to reduce employer rates is not only an unfair tax , but it's illegal. This is confirmed by an opinion from the New Hampshire Attorney General's Office. This story is picking up steam in the media and hopefully will sway the NH Senate to balk at this unlawful and unfair measure! Read the Telegraph piece here.

NHTAwins major victory for State Troopers!

April 30 , 2009
Hot off the presses. Read it here (more details to follow)!

Unions reach accord in Manchester.

May 19, 2009. Ending weeks of negotiations, City police and fire Unions reached a tentative agreement that saves the City money in the short term, but raises wages significantly over the long term.Attorney Molan lead the effort on behalf of most of the Unions :"A good result thathelps taxpayers during this economic crisis, but alsoa deserving recognition by the City of the hard working police and fire personnel" , he said. Read the Union Leader coverage here.

High Court strikes down state law shielding correction officers from prisoner suits.

May 27, 2009. In a case closely watched by the law enforcement community, the US Supreme Court yesterday held unconstitutional a state law that stripped its courts of jurisdiction to hear sec. 1983 / civil rights claims against correction officers. Read the case here.

SEA wins back DOC employees!

May 27 2009. The PELRB remand decision has just been released. Read it here. January 2008 election held unlawful. More to follow.

SEA wins important Superior Court case !

June 1, 2009. The Town of Hampton has decided to file all sorts of lawsuits in Superior Court against the bargaining units in Town for a variety of reasons - including a court challenge to the validity of an evergreen clause in the SEA's contract there. Not so fast! The PELRB has jurisdiction over these types of disputes not the trial courts where getting results is costly and can often take years. The Superior Court granted SEA's motion to dismiss settling this important jurisdictional question. Read the motion to dismiss and the decision posted on our downloads page.

Superior Court suspends Sudanese Investment Act -- NHRS wins injunction!

June 5, 2009. In a stunning rebuke to the Legislature's belief that they can run the Retirement System, the Superior Court has confirmed again that there is in place Constitutional constraints on legislative power regarding public employees and their retirement system. In one of the first court rulings interpreting Article36-a of the New Hampshire Constitution, Superior Court Judge Diane Nicolosi has ruled that the legislature overstepped its bounds by legislating how retirement funds should be invested. This case may well have major implications on challenges now being considered by the New Hampshire Retirement Security Coalition relative to changes adopted by HB1645 and the current tinkerings under consideration this term. For example, can the legislature create (and the Governor appoint members to) an Investment Committee?

Read the case here and stay tuned! See downloads page for more.

SEA wins majority support to organize over 300 Court System employees!

June 7, 2009 Last Friday the SEA filed at the PELRB a WMA petition with over 60% support of Court System employees currently unrepresented. The goal is to have this new unit certified in time to protect current benefits that have been threatened by provisions of HB2. The petition is here. Union Leader coverage here. Monitor coverage here. For more on HB2 see our downloads page.

SEA wins Group II certification for corrections'employees!

June 10, 2009. At long last, the efforts of the SEA , its field staff and legal team, has paid off -- 60 plus employees at the Department of Corrections will soon be included in NHRS Group II where they belong. The State's Director of Personnel has certified these positions as Group II eligible and has requested that Retirement enroll them. Read the details here.

Layoff Notices to issue Monday for State Corrections employees.

June 13, 2009. Monday will be a tough day for as many as 70 or so Correction Officers , mostly those working in Laconia, as the State will issue layoff notices in connection with that closing facility. The silver lining is that the notices are offering full bumping and recall rights and help for health insurance costs for 6 months. Most layoffs are to be effective July 3, 2009. For more information and assistance to those affected officers and employees, please contact the SEA.

Superior Court ruling places budget in doubt.

June 26, 2009. A superior court judge has ruled that the Attorney General's office may not represent the Joint Underwriters Association regarding the lawsuit filed to block the Governor's attempt to grab 110 million dollars from the doctor's malpractice fund. This is key as the ruling is based upon the conclusion that theJUA is not a government agency. Thus it appearsa key component of the budget compromise just passed is doomed. Speculation in Concord is that a legislative special session will be called if the court determines that the State cannot tap into that fund.Rulings in the case here and here. Laconia Citizen article here. So, maybe the budget will move into 'extra innings' - stay tuned!

US Supreme Court sides with white firefighters in 'reverse discrimination' case.

June 29 2009. In the high Court's last day of the 2008 session, a much awaited ruling in a promotional / discrimination case wasreleased. TheCourt ruled that the City of New Haven Conn. violated anti discrimination laws by throwing out the results of an exam because of a perceived , statistical disparity between the races of passingcandidates. The case is here.

Coming to a NH Court near you? Police and Fire employees file suit over retirement changes!

July 3, 2009 Claiming recent legislative initiatives have unlawfullychanged the rules of the game (sound familiar?), Police and Fire employees filed a lawsuit challenging the Constitutionality of those measures. Read the complaint here. The national firm of Stember Feinstein is co counsel on the case (sound familiar?) Globe coverage here.

SEA , State nearing a deal?

July 15, 2009. The SEA and State may be close to a contract - a pact aimed at avoiding hundreds of layoffs. Attorney Molan is acting as a facilitator along with former labor commissioner Jim Casey. Monitor Article here. Talks will continue on tomorrow, stay tuned.

SEA / State announce agreement reached!

July 24, 2009 A joint statement was just released announcing that the SEA and the State have reacheda tentative agreement on a two-year contract that will help achieve the $25 million in personnel-related savings required by the state budget without any additional layoffs.

The major components of the agreement are:

• 18 furlough days over biennium, 12 of which shall come from state government shut-downs.Shut-downs would be similar to state holidays, with essential health and public safety functions continuing. Instead of taking furloughs, employees who work at 24-hour operations will forego 18 days of holiday pay for this biennium.
• There will not be any additional layoffs of generally funded positions due to the fact that that SEA's share of the $25 million in personnel-related savings are achieved through the furlough program. There will be no other layoffs other than those called for within the approved state budget,or necessary because of a reduction of federal funds or grants or closing of facilities or suspension of programs.
• Freeze on step increases in FY 2011.
• Health plan changes, including wellness program and required mail-order refills for certain maintenance prescription drugs.
• Partial restoration of "bumping" for the biennium that limits it to one "bump" by limiting anemployee with more than 10 years of service tobumping an employee with less than 10 years of service within a division.
• Lay-offs shall first apply to part-time workers within a facility or community where the layoffs are to occur.
• Employees receive 18 vacation days, spread over four years beginning in FY 2012. The vacation days will not lapse but will have no cash value at retirement or termination.

Last night, SEA's Master Bargaining Team presented the tentative agreementproposal to the Collective Bargaining Senate.

The Senate voted to authorize the Bargaining Team to prepare the language that would go into the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and then to send the formal language to union members for a vote.

The contract ratification processmay takeseveral weeks to complete -- but ifSEA members approve the agreement, the contract provisions will be retroactive to July 1st.

A very tough negotiations and congratulations to the SEA bargaining team and Dennis Kinnan and Diana Lacey --great job! Also, many thanks to Attorney Richard Molan for facilitating the agreement.

AG 's office releases updated Right to Know memo.

July 31, 2009 The Attorney General's office has released its long awaited updated memorandum on the Right to Know law, RSA 91-A. The memo seeks to capture the changes made to 91-A in the last two legislative sessions as well as to review recent Court decisions. Interestingly, the AG opines that HB53 - a bill retained by the House Judiciary Committee and opposed by labor groups (see the legislative alert page for more details) - is a good bill! We need to watch this next session very closely. Also, the AG's memo cites approvingly to cases , like the Firefighters' case against HealthTrust, that have expanded the law's reach. This memo (available here) is a must read!

SEA /State retirees file class action lawsuit!

August 4, 2009 Today the SEA filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of retirees under age 65 who are now being charged 65$ per retiree as a deduction from monthly pension checks to subsidize the cost of retiree health care. These deductions from legally vested rights to pension benefits are unconstitutional. Moreover, these deductions violate IRS rules against using pension money to pay for health insurance and rather strong 'anti-alienation' provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. This well could place in jeopardy the retirement fund's tax favored status -- is this what the State wants? Monitor article here. Telegraph piece here. Petition here. Stay tuned and check the downloads page for updates as this case progresses.

Retirement Coalition file suit!

August 7 , 2009 The NH Retirement Security Coalition filed suit today challenging the constitutionality of changes in the public pension system (RSA 100-A) mandated by HB1645 , a bill passed in the 2008 legislative session that altered pension benefits that constitute vested legal rights.Read the petition here and check back to the downloads page for updates as the case proceeds.

Federal court throws out Maryland furlough plan as violating US Contracts Clause!

August 20, 2009. In these tough economic times, often public side unions invoke Constitutional protections preventing States from reneging on promises made in collective bargaining agreements. In a case that supports the recent lawsuits filed in New Hampshire by labor, a federal court again rules that the Constitution cannot be ignored by politicians. The Court ruled :

"The Court further recognizes that Prince Georges County, like other counties and municipalities, is struggling with budget deficits and is searching for alternatives to layoffs in the midst of a global recession.
While adequate deference must be accorded to the fiscal decisions of government officials, the Courtcannot merely give lip service to the fundamental principles that undergird the Contract Clause of
the United States Constitution. To do otherwise, even in these severe economic times, would sanction the County running roughshod over the Unions, who in good faith negotiated a binding
contract with the County."

Read the full decision here. Likewise in New Hampshire, labor will fight so that promises made are promises kept!

Sept. 1, 2009 The Troopers' Association have cleared the good name of a longtime member. Read the decision on our downloads page under "Trooper cases".

Local Government Center under State Investigation!

October 7, 2009
The LGC has made public in a recent filing with the Merrimack County Superior Court, that it is under State investigation for allegedly violating State Statute (RSA 5-B). The allegations include questions regarding LGC keeping 7 million dollars of health insurance money for"future administrative needs". Under State Law, excess health insurance premiums must be returned to the participating New Hampshire cities and towns.Watch for press accounts soon. More to follow and the documents are available on our downloads page.

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