ALBANY — The state’s highest court has ruled the names and pensions of retired public school teachers must be made public.
The Empire Center for Public Policy requested the names under a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, but was denied. The matter was then sent to the court system where two lower courts ruled in favor of the New York City and NYS Teachers Retirement Systems.
However, according to the Court of Appeals’ unanimous opinion, the cases in which the lower courts referred to, when deciding the Empire Center’s case, was looked at “too broadly”.
While the ruling by the Court of Appeals allows for pensioners names to be made public, it exempts their addresses.
“Ct of Appeals decision is landmark affirmation of public’s right to know how public pension benefits are distributed,” Empire Center president E.J. McMahon tweeted.
The Empire Center posts the salaries of government workers and pensions of retirees on its website Seethroughny.net.