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On November 18, 2008, the
Georgia Court of Appeals, Second Division ruled
against 54 officers previous enrolled in the
sworn retirement plan under the Employee
Retirement System of Georgia (ERS).
In October 2005, sworn state officers serving at
POST, GPSTC, Capitol Police, and Department of
Public Safety (DPS) investigations were
retroactively re-classified into the civilian
retirement plan of ERS. These officers had
served as state, county, or city law enforcement
officers prior to accepting employment with the
agencies identified above. Most, if not all,
based their decision on being eligible for
retirement at age 55 with at least 10 years of
creditable service. All were placed in the sworn
retirement plan of ERS with the approval of
previous Commissioners of DPS.
On 2006, a civil suit was brought in Superior
Court in Fulton County. Judge T. Jackson
Bedford, Jr. subsequently ruled on October 29,
2007 in favor of the 54 officers. His opinion
was that the officers had been properly enrolled
in the sworn retirement plan and this benefit
was part of their employee contract. He further
ruled that under the Georgia Constitution this
benefit could not be reduced retroactively by
ERS.
In February 1, 2008, the State appealed the
ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals. The
Second Division, in an opinion written by Chief
Judge Anne Elizabeth Barnes, reversed the ruling
by Judge Bedford. The justices ruled that the
Commissioners of DPS did not have the legal
authority to place anyone in the sworn
retirement plan of ERS who had not served in the
Uniform Division of DPS. Therefore, the 54
officers were erroneously placed in the sworn
plan and could be properly placed in the
civilian plan without violating the Georgia
Constitution.
On December 8, 2008, this case was appealed to
the Georgia Supreme Court.
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