Are Lawyers In Private Practice Who Represent School Districts Entitled To Claim Pension Benefits As District Employees?

For more than a year, since the Long Island newspaper Newsday first broke the story, lawyers at private law firms in New York who indicated that they were full time employees of public school districts and other local government entities and who claimed eligibility under the New York public employee retirement fund system have been under pressure to drop out of the system, pay back any benefits received, and resolve claims that what they had been doing was improper – and unlawful.

 
Much of the background is available at http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2008/jun/june3a_08.html, http://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/jan09/011309a.htm, and http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lireic0219a-sg,0,2914885.storygallery.
 
What brings this to mind today is that the New York State Comptroller has recently completed its audit of all New York public school districts and reported that the Franklin Square School District “improperly classified an independent contractor, an attorney, as an employee and enrolled this individual in the New York State and Local Retirement System.”
 
Although a number of lawyers have settled with the state government over this issue, others are challenging the state’s position in court. This issue is likely to continue to percolate in New York, and perhaps elsewhere.