New York City Agrees to Settle USERRA Lawsuit

The lawsuit alleges that the city unlawfully calculates the pensionable earnings of NYPD officers called to military duty by relying exclusively on their base pay-rate instead of including the overtime or night shift compensation they would have earned had the military not mandated their service, as required by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The settlement agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, calls for the New York Police Department (NYPD) to recalculate compensation used to calculate benefits for active or retired employees who were called to service after September 11, 2001. It does not require recalculation for police officers who were called to active duty prior to that date, unless the officer or retiree directs a written request for calculation to the pension fund.

In addition, the settlement agreement requires the NYPD to advise other city agencies about recalculating compensation used to calculate pension benefits for similarly situated employees or retirees for other city agencies.  

Although the lawsuit was originally filed on behalf of active and retired NYPD officers (see “NYC Sued for Military Member Police Officers’ Pensions”), it was later expanded to included employees and retirees of other city agencies (see “USERRA Lawsuit for NYC Workers Expands”).  

The settlement agreement is here.