A San Diego Superior Court Judge ruled Tuesday to invalidate a 2012 proposition (Prop B) that replaced most city employees' pensions with 401k retirement plans, according to the mayor's office.
City police officers were excluded from the pension reform.
In August of 2018, the state Supreme Court rejected Prop B, ruling former San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders illegally bypassed city employee unions before placing the proposition before voters.
State law requires government officials to confer in good faith with public employee unions about wages and other terms of employment. San Diego argued that the pension measure was sponsored by citizens, so it was exempt from the meet and confer requirement.
In March of 2019, a state appeals court ordered San Diego to financially compensate about 4,000 city employees who didn't have pensions because of the measure.
The Court of Appeals said the financial compensation for the workers must be the difference between the value of a pension and the value of the 401K-style plans, plus 7% interest.
Local
Then in June of 2019, the San Diego City Council voted 6-3 to invalidate Prop B.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria released a statement Tuesday night that read in part, "We have a long, complicated challenge in front of us. Once the ruling is finalized, I will work closely with the City Council, the City Attorney, and represented city employee organizations to chart a course forward that is in the best interest of San Diegans and the city employees that serve them."
City Councilmember Chris Cate, the council's lone Republican representative, called Tuesday's ruling "astounding."
State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez also offered reaction va Twitter.
