Public Employee Pension Case Hearing Delayed

An early morning hearing for the lawsuit brought against Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature for requiring state employees and other local government workers to contribute 3 percent of their salary to their retirement plans has been delayed until the afternoon.

The suit was brought by the Florida Education Association, the state's largest teachers' union, and joined by other public-sector unions. Ron Meyer, general counsel for the FEA, is asking for a temporary injunction to put the employee contributions, which are set to begin Friday, into a separate account so they can be refunded to the state employees if the courts decide the Legislature acted wrongly in requiring employees under contract to contribute to their pensions.

Leon County Circuit Court Judge Jackie Fulford has asked lawyers from both sides to set a tentative schedule for the case before reconvening Thursday afternoon to decide whether to put the contributions into a separate account.

A hearing for summary judgment on the overall case is set for Oct. 26.