- December 16, 2025
If the appeal by Gov. Scott fails, the state would have to pay back more than 500,000 employees.
A Leon County Circuit judge ruled in favor of more than half a million public employees Tuesday, deeming unconstitutional a new state law requiring them to contribute 3% of their pay to pension plans.
Last year, Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Legislature ordered government workers who are part of the Florida Retirement System to contribute 3% of their salaries to the state’s pension fund.
The ruling applies to government workers who were members of the retirement system before July 1, 2011. This includes county, state, school, public university and community college employees, as well as 182 cities and 231 special districts around the state.
Judge Jackie Fulford issued the ruling about four months after hearing the challenge to the law.
Scott intends to appeal the decision “swiftly.”
“As you would expect, I believe this decision is simply wrong,” Scott said in a March 6 statement. “The trial judge has ignored 30 years of Supreme Court precedent in a decision that refuses to allow Florida to have common-sense pension reform.”
Fulford’s decision would require the state to pay back approximately 560,000 public employees, plus interest.
The case will be appealed to the First District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. It likely would then be heard by the Florida Supreme Court.
Scott said the court’s decision nullifies the will of the people, and leaves Florida as one of the only states in the county in which public employees contribute nothing toward their retirement. This leaves Floridian workers with 100% of the tab, Scott said.
The court’s order will be stayed throughout the appellate process, which will avoid an immediate impact on the 2012-2013 budget. Employees will therefore continue to pay the 3% until the matter is resolved.
Scott said: “This is another example of a court substituting its own policy preferences for those of the Legislature.”
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