The University of Idaho Argonaut

Court decision upholds move to reduce retiree benefits

The University of Idaho is out of court, and it won. In a recent decision, the Latah County Second District Court dismissed a class action lawsuit brought by 268 former UI employees. The case was brought before the court after UI changed the retirement benefits for employees who retired under special contracts in 1999 and 2002.

In 2007, UI officials revised the health care benefits for the retirees. They were given a choice between a health plan with a monthly premium or one with a high deductable. They also reduced the life insurance policies to $10,000 instead of the promised full year’s salary.

Analyzing the headache of contracts with ambiguous language, one could make a convincing case for either side, but does that matter? UI found a loophole to skip out on its responsibilities. Even if the language of the contracts and the faculty-staff handbook allowed UI to do this, what does it say to other possible retirees? Will they be willing to retire early knowing UI can change the agreement?

This case should never have gone to court because whether it was legal or not, the university should never have gone against its word to save a couple bucks. The university needs to honor the agreement, not because the court tells them to, but because the integrity of the school is at stake.