Appeals court rejects changes to Michigan workers’ pensions
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan appeals court has struck down a 2011 law that required state workers choosing to stay in a pension plan to contribute 4 percent of their compensation toward the system.
In a 3-0 ruling released Wednesday, judges said that change and others are unconstitutional because only the state Civil Service Commission can change state employees’ compensation — not lawmakers.
The decision affirms an Ingham County judge’s ruling from 2012.
State workers hired before April 1997 qualify for a defined benefit pension plan. Those hired since then are in a 401(k)-style plan.
In 2011, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder and GOP lawmakers changed the law to make pension-eligible employees contribute 4 percent or switch to the 401(k) system.
State employee unions representing roughly 34,000 employees sued.
Hathaway begins prison stay in W.Va.
DETROIT (AP) — Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway has followed Martha Stewart’s footsteps and begun serving her federal sentence at a minimum security lockup in West Virginia.
The Detroit News and WXYZ-TV say Hathaway reported Tuesday to the Federal Prison Camp at Alderson.
It’s sometimes known as “Camp Cupcake,” and its more recent prisoners have included ex-Detroit City Council member Monica Conyers. The wife of U.S. Rep. John Conyers was doing time for bribe-taking.
Hathaway is serving a sentence of a year and a day for bank fraud. She hid assets and misled a bank while trying to negotiate a short sale on her Grosse Pointe Park home.
Other Alderson prisoners have included two women who tried to shoot then-President Gerald Ford — Sara Jane Moore and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme.
Mich. reopens search for civil rights director
LANSING (AP) — The state is reopening its search for someone to lead the Michigan Department of Civil Rights.
Applications are due Aug. 23 for the position that pays between $135,000 and $140,000 a year.
The state Civil Rights Commission interviewed four people last month but decided against hiring one of them at that time. The civil rights agency investigates civil rights complaints and does outreach and education.
The commission is expected to hire a new director during its October meeting. Daniel Krichbaum retired in July after three years in the position.
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