BREAKING: Providence Retirees Suing City, State
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
The Providence Retired Police and Fire Association is in court this morning moving forward on its plans to sue the state and the city of Providence in an attempt to reverse controversial changes made to retiree health care plans during the last General Assembly session.
Under the new plan, health coverage for police and fire retirees shifts to Medicare after age 65, a change the city claimed would save approximately $11.6 million. The actual savings were only around $3 million because the city was hit with a penalty by the federal government for each retiree it switched over to Medicare.
The retirees plan to argue that the changes violate collective bargaining agreements while the city and state are saying the changes fall under “public good” provisions that suggest a collectively bargained contract can, in some cases, be overturned.
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Superior Court Justice Sarah Taft-Carter is hearing the case. In September, Taft-Carter handed down a ruling that recognized the “implied contractual relationship” between public employees and the state pension system.
