Cummings v. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority

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Cummings worked for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority for 27 years. She alleges the Authority paid her less than her male colleagues and refused to promote her when she complained about the disparity. She filed suit. The parties entered a settlement on February 4, 2015. The Authority agreed to pay Cummings $45,000 and to suspend her for a six-month period at a pay rate of $600 per month. For 18 months, Cummings could exhaust her paid leave at her regular salary. If Cummings did not obtain other public sector employment with corresponding state retirement benefits, the Authority would again place her on a six-month suspension at $600 per month through January 31, 2017, or the first date she became eligible to retire with 30 years of service credit. Cummings released the Authority from all claims. On July 15, 2016, Cummings asked the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System to calculate her retirement service credit and learned that she would not accumulate additional retirement credit under the settlement because the payments did not count as “earnable salary,” Cummings sought to vacate the judgment and reinstate her complaint. The Sixth Circuit affirmed rejection of her motion as time-barred under Civil Rule 60(b)(1), which permits motions to vacate in the event of “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect” filed within one year of the judgment. The one-year bar also applies in cases of “fraud ... misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party.” View "Cummings v. Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority" on Justia Law