ADMINISTRATIVE LAW | LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT | PENSIONS
01-2-6464 I/M/O Town of Harrison and Fraternal Order of Police, et. al., App. Div. (Fuentes, P.J.A.D.) (65 pp.) Five municipalities and the unions that represent police officers and firefighters employed by them have mounted a collective legal challenge to the Acting Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits’ decision to refuse to implement the final determination of the Board of Trustees of the Police and Firemen’s Retirement System, which found certain senior officer and longevity pay provisions in the collective bargaining agreements entered into by appellants were creditable compensation for pension purposes under N.J.S.A. 43:16A-1(26)(a). The singular legal question before us is whether the Acting Director of the Division of Pensions and Benefits has the legal authority to refuse to implement a final decision of the PFRS Board of Trustees because the Acting Director has independently concluded that the decision of the PFRS Board of Trustees is legally incorrect. We hold the action of the Acting Director to refuse to implement a final determination made by the PFRS Board of Trustees concerning what constitutes creditable compensation for pension purposes under N.J.S.A. 43:16A-1(26)(a) in these cases was ultra vires, without legal force or effect. Final determinations of the PFRS Board of Trustees are reviewable only by this court. N.J.A.C. 17:4-1.7(e); R. 2:2-3(a)(2). [Approved for publication.]
