1.
FLORIDA D.O.E. NOT REQUIRED TO PRODUCE TEACHERS’ SOCIAL SECURITY
NUMBERS:
The Sarasota Herald Tribune
requested the Florida Department of Education to provide data bases
for Florida teachers, including
Social Security numbers. The First District Court of Appeal reversed
an order requiring the Department to provide the requested data
because one request was not verified as required by statute and the
other
did not further administration of the Title IV-D program of the
Social Security Act for child support enforcement, also as required
by statute.
Florida Department of Education v. NYT Management Services, Inc.,
30 Fla. L. Weekly D434 (Fla. 1st DCA, February 14, 2005).
2. UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES ARE SUCCESSOR EMPLOYERS TO
BOARD OF EDUCATION:
The Florida Public Employees Relations Commission
dismissed unfair labor practice charges filed by two unions against
the Florida State
University Board of Trustees, the University of West Florida Board
of Trustees and the Board of Governors of the State University System.
The Commission found that there had been a change in employer from
the Board of Education to the boards of trustees by virtue of statutory
amendment. In addition, in 2003, the Florida Constitution was amended
to create the Board of Governors of the State University System to
govern the statewide university system. Thereupon, the two university
boards of trustees gave notice that payroll deductions for union
dues would cease for their employees, including faculty. PERC rejected
the
proposition that the university boards of trustees were successors
to the Board of Education, bound by the collective bargaining agreements
they inherited. On review, the First District Court of Appeal reversed.
The order under review articulates no persuasive reason for PERC’s
departure from its long-standing interpretation of the statutes it
administers or for its abrupt repudiation of private sector precedent
in the area. A rule allowing state government to alter terms and conditions
of employment unilaterally based solely upon reshuffling in the higher
reaches of bureaucracy -- reshuffling that does not alter the work
that state employees, whose wages and hours might be affected, must
do in the same way at the same place under same supervisors to the
same end -- is unlikely to serve the stated legislative purpose to
promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between government
and its employees. United Faculty of Florida v. Public Employees Relations
Commissions, 30 Fla. Weekly D343 (Fla. 1st DCA, February 14, 2005).
3. DISCIPLINED AT-WILL EMPLOYEE NOT ENTITLED TO ADMINISTRATIVE
HEARING:
The chief environmental scientist for South Florida
Water Management District was given a written reprimand, demoted and
transferred to
a different geographical region. He filed a petition for administrative
hearing, challenging this agency action, but because he was an at-will
employee, the petition was dismissed for lack of standing. On appeal,
dismissal of the petition was upheld because in order to obtain review
of administrative agency action a person’s “substantial
interest” must have been determined. In that there was no contract
of employment and no statute, rule or policy giving the environmentalist
a substantial interest, he had no standing and was not entitled to
an administrative hearing. Toth v. South Florida Water Management District,
30 Fla. L. Weekly D390 (Fla. 4th DCA, February 9, 2005).
4. WHAT MAKES RETIREES HAPPY?:
The Center for Retirement
Research at Boston College has issued another brief. Entitled “What
Makes Retirees Happy?,” the piece concludes that understanding
the factors that determine well-being of retirees is an important economic
and policy topic. Although most previous studies look at only economic
well-being, this study examines a broader measure of well-being to
see if other determinants are important. The results show that while
economic well-being (as measured by income and wealth) does increase
overall well-being, the effect is relatively small. Having a defined
benefit plan that provides a life-time annuity has a positive impact
on the well-being of retirees, compared to having no pension or even
just a defined contribution plan. On the other hand, two other factors
stand out as having more important effect on well-being. The first
is the reason for retirement. If individuals say they voluntarily retired,
they express much higher levels of well-being compared to those who
did not voluntarily retire. It is likely that if they retired before
they had expected to, they may not have completed financial or psychological
preparations for retirement, leading to lower well-being in retirement.
Indeed, the effects of involuntary retirement may actually be greater
than reported here since the involuntarily-retired also have lower
levels of income that would increase satisfaction even further. The
second major factor is health. Unsurprisingly, those with poor health
also experienced dramatically lower levels of well-being. Although
neither of these factors is controllable from a policy point of view,
they do indicate areas where more research could be done to help assure
higher levels of well-being for retirees.
5. MAJORITY OF AMERICANS EXPECT TO FARE BETTER THAN
THEIR PARENTS:
A Fidelity survey of more than 1,800 adults involved
in decisions regarding their finances shows that nearly 3 out of
4 Americans believe they
will be more financially prepared for retirement than their parents
are or will be. Young adults are the most confident: those between
21 and 34 are more confident than those between 35 and 54. In fact,
more than 70% of the younger group started saving before age 30,
compared to only 54% of the older group. However, 6 in 10 Americans
do not currently
have tax-advantage accounts (like an IRA), because they “just
haven’t gotten around to it” because of lack of time or
patience. For the 35 to 54 group, the main excuse for not doing so
is lack of funds. |
