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A lawsuit filed by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System says that the City of Dallas owes its police and firefighters who served in the military more than $2 million in pension contributions for the periods when they were on active duty.
According to a report from WFAA-TV, the suit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, cites the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, which Congress passed in 1994 to protect the employment rights of those in the armed forces, as the basis of the suit.
It seeks to recover pension funds for the periods police and firefighters of the city served on active duty in the military, saying that those periods are protected by law.
Servicemembers' pension benefits are protected by the Act, which prohibits credit for employment not being counted while they are away on active duty. According to the suit, the city "refused" to make its contributions to the police and firefighter pension funds, despite the fact that both police and firefighters made their own contributions to the plan upon return from active service.
The report says, "At least 100 police and firefighters who returned to their work in Dallas after military service made contributions for the time they were on duty. The lawsuits states those individuals contributed more than $700,000 to the pension." It asks not just for the more than $2 million it says is owed in pension contributions, but also interest and court costs.
The city has not commented on the suit in the report.
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Marlene Satter
Marlene Y. Satter has worked in and written about the financial industry for decades.
