Thursday, January 13, 2005
Contact: Spence Jackson, (573)751-1378
Blunt Nominates Chairman of Labor and Industrial Relations Commission
Announces Support of Legislative Efforts to Reform Pension System
JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today announced that William F. Ringer is his choice to serve as chairman of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.
Blunt also announced his support of legislation to reform the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) retirement system. The current system has allowed appointees to acquire or significantly enhance state retirement pensions while serving as little, in one instan ce, as fourteen days on certain state commissions.
Ringer, 56, is a member in the Kansas City office of Evans and Dixon, L.L.C., an insurance defense litigation firm. Ringer specializes in workers' compensation cases. Ringer received an A.B. in Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1970 an d earned a law degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1973.
As chairman of the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, Ringer will lead two other members in hearing appeals for final decision in workers' compensation award cases and unemployment compensation and victims of crime compensation cases. The commissi on also has the ability to decide wage disputes and modify workers' compensation death awards of permanent disability.
The commission is the governing body of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations and is made up of three seats-one commissioner, who must be a licensed attorney, who represents the public, another who represents employers and a third who represent s employees. Ringer has previous experience serving as a member of the commission from 1982-1986.
"The chairman of this position requires an individual who is responsive to the needs of Missouri's employees and employers," Blunt said. "Bill Ringer is an ideal candidate to head the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission because he has proved he can effectively balance the needs of those three groups."
Ringer's appointment is subject to Senate confirmation.
Under the current pension structure, certain judicial appointments allow an immense increase in pension benefits no matter how long the appointee serves on the commission. A recent example sparked sharp criticism when former Sen. Ken Jacob, who Ringer wi ll replace, was appointed by former Gov. Bob Holden to the state Labor and Industrial Relations Commission.
This appointment hiked Jacob's pension from $28,739 annually to $47,615 annually. Jacob served on the commission for approximately five months, but because of the pension system available to administrative law judges, he will be generously rewarded for h is short time served on the commission. Both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have enjoyed pension boosts from serving short tenures on the commission.
During his campaign for governor, Blunt promised to sign legislation that would fix the loophole in state law that allows former legislators to increase their pensions with temporary appointments to state commissions. Senate Bill 33, sponsored by Sen. Ma tt Bartle would place nominees with no previous state government service under the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) for a designated period of time before they could become eligible for benefits under the ALJ retirement system.
Bartle's bill would also require people appointed to the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, the State Board of Mediation and the Administrative Hearing Commission to receive Senate confirmation prior to becoming eligible for benefits under MOSERS or the ALJ retirement system.
"I am opposed to the present practice of elected officials appointing career politicians to lucrative positions for no other purpose than a political payback," Blunt said. "The current system is offensive to Missouri taxpayers and is in desperate need of repair."