A judge has rejected a lawsuit by fellow New York jurists seeking back pay for the 13 years they went without a raise. WAMC’s Dave Lucas reports.
State Supreme Court Justice Richard Braun says he cannot contradict the Court of Appeals, which in 2010 declined to order retroactive pay. The court had ruled the Legislature violated the "separation of powers doctrine" for years by tying judicial pay to proposed legislator raises and other issues.
The Legislature's response was to establish a commission that recommended three years of raises for some 1,300 state judges.
The first, approved by the Legislature and effective this year, raises the salary of judges on New York's main trial court from $136,700 annually to $160,000.
The commission has recommended raises to $167,000 next year and $174,000 in 2014.
© 2012 The Associated Press.
