For over two decades Greg Hartman has represented a coalition of public sector labor unions in protecting the rights of members under Oregon’s public employee retirement system. This representation has involved not only litigation but multiple appearances before the Oregon legislature as well as before the Public Employee Retirement Board. Greg has handled several cases which have resulted in billions of dollars of saved benefits for members of the Public Employee Retirement System. He was lead counsel in the case Strunk et al. v. Public Employee Retirement Board et al., in which the Oregon Supreme Court held a portions of the 2003 reform legislation were unconstitutional, thereby reinstating over $2 billion of benefits for PERS members.
Most recently Greg, along with partner Aruna Masih, pursued legal challenges to the 2013 changes to PERS benefits in the case of Moro et. al. v. State of Oregon et. al. before the Oregon Supreme Court. On April 30, 2015, the Oregon Supreme Court held that most of the changes to PERS cost-of -living adjustment (COLA) made by the 2013 legislature, including those that were part of the “Grand Bargain,” unconstitutionally impaired PERS members’ contract rights.
At issue in the Moro case was $5.3 billion dollars in benefits for PERS members and retirees. The Supreme Court’s decision finding the SB 822 and SB 861 reductions to COLA unconstitutional for benefits earned before the effective dates of the changes means that over $4 billion of the $5.3 billion in benefits at issue have been protected. This represents a significant victory for PERS retirees and members.
The court affirmed the changes to the 1991 (SB 656) and 1995 (HB 3349) income tax offsets for out of state retirees and to COLA for benefits that members earn on or after the effective dates of SB 822 (May 6, 2013) and SB 861 (October 8, 2013). A complete copy of the Supreme Court’s decision can be found through the link to the pleadings on our PERS Litigation page.
