Opinion ID: 2111011
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Appellee Richard Burton

Text: Appellee Richard H. Burton (Mr. Burton) worked for the State of West Virginia for over thirty-two years, first with the DOH, and then with the West Virginia Bureau of Employment Programs, Unemployment Compensation Division. Like Mr. Myers, when Mr. Burton retired effective February 1, 2005, he had accumulated a significant amount of unused annual leave. Also like Mr. Myers, he requested and received a lump sum payment as compensation for those unused hours. Specifically, Mr. Burton received $12,050.29, from which no retirement system contributions were withheld. Following his retirement, Mr. Burton similarly requested that the Board include the amount of his lump sum payment in the calculation of his final average salary. Like Mr. Myers, he too based his request on the 1988 amendment to West Virginia Code § 5-5-3. Mr. Burton had worked for the DOH for approximately fifteen years when the 1988 amendment came into effect, and he continued to work for the DOH for approximately sixteen years after it was effectively repealed. Mr. Burton was not eligible for retirement during the period in which the 1988 amendment was in effect. As with Mr. Myers, the Board's staff refused Mr. Burton's request to include the lump sum payment in his final average salary calculation, and Mr. Burton appealed to a Board hearing officer. At an administrative hearing conducted on July 7, 2006, Mr. Burton testified that he was aware of the 1988 amendment when it was enacted because, in his position as an administrative assistant, he prepared the paperwork for a lot of the individuals who did take advantage of that period. He testified that he was not aware of the 1989 amendment to the statute, however. Furthermore, Mr. Burton testified that he had relied on being able to participate in the PERS in making his decision to work for the State, and that he had foregone other employment opportunities in order to remain employed with the State. On September 29, 2006, the hearing officer issued a Recommended Decision denying Mr. Burton's request. The PERS Board of Trustees adopted that recommendation on October 26, 2006, resulting in a final order. Mr. Burton then filed a petition for appeal of the Board of Trustees's final decision in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County. After considering the parties' briefs, the circuit court issued a final order on August 5, 2009, reversing the Board's decision, and directing the Board to recalculate Mr. Burton's final average salary to include his annual leave lump sum payment. The circuit court further ordered that the recalculation be applied retroactively with interest. The Board now appeals from this final order.