Time and attendance lawsuit could benefit 86,000 Alabama workers

Approximately 86,000 of Alabama's public sector employees may qualify for a class action time and attendance lawsuit against the state pension program.

Until recently, law enforcement officials and public employees who worked more than 40 hours per week put 5 percent of their subsistence and overtime earnings toward their retirement. Jim McFerrin, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, argues this system was unconstitutional and is calling for workers to be reimbursed.

The practice of counting overtime and subsistence pay toward retirement benefits had been in place since the 1970s, but was discontinued as of the beginning of September. Last month, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange issued an opinion that the practice was illegal.

Pension plans were also recently an issue in the city of Hollywood, Florida, which has been mired by budget shortfalls. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that voters recently approved an $8.5 million-saving initiative that will increase the age of retirement, change pension calculations and exclude overtime from the pension plans of police and firefighters.