11/04/09

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) _ A judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by
268 former University of Idaho employees seeking to have their
early retirement benefits restored.

The Lewiston Tribune reports 2nd District Judge John Stegner
awarded summary judgement to the University of Idaho. Stegner said
the UI Faculty-Staff Handbook reserved the right of the State Board
of Education and the university to change benefits, and the
handbook was incorporated into the retirement agreements by
reference.

Facing budget woes in 1998 and 2002, the university offered
extra benefits to entice some highly paid employees into early
retirement. In 2007, the university reduced some of those benefits
in an effort to save money; prompting the former employees to sue.

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Information from: Lewiston Tribune, http://www.lmtribune.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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