By Kathleen Stinson
The Arizona Republic
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, director of the Rose Law Group Employment Law and Managed Health Care Law Practice, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
Queen Creek and its firefighters will have to continue to pay into Social Security in addition to the mandatory statewide retirement system, according to a recent U.S. District Court decision.
That means the town must continue to pay about $110,000 a year in Social Security benefits for its 28 full-time firefighters and this expense will increase as additional firefighters are hired.
Only a few municipalities in Arizona have to pay into both systems. Queen Creek Human Resource Director Bruce Gardner said most Arizona municipalities were incorporated before 1954, when federal law excluded firefighters from mandatory participation in the Social Security system.
The town did not explicitly ask that firefighters be excluded from the system when it joined Social Security. The town instead used the words “emergency workers,” but claimed in court its intent was to include firefighters in this category.
The court decision could put the town at a disadvantage in attracting and retaining firefighters, who also have to pay into two retirement systems, Gardner said.
