McClintock v. Maine Pub. Employees Retirement Sys.

**What Happened** McClintock worked for the Maine Public Employees Retirement System and applied for service credits toward his retirement benefits. The retirement system's board denied his request for full-year service credits, claiming he didn't qualify. McClintock disagreed and sued, arguing this was a breach of contract and that he should receive the credits he was entitled to under the retirement system's rules. **What the Court Decided** The court sided with McClintock. It overturned the retirement board's decision and sent the case back to the board with instructions to grant McClintock the service credits. The court determined that McClintock qualified as a part-time employee under the relevant statute, which meant he was entitled to the full-year service credits he had requested. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling shows that public employees can successfully challenge retirement benefit decisions when they believe they've been wrongly denied credits or benefits. Workers should understand their rights under retirement systems and know they can take legal action if benefits are improperly withheld. The decision reinforces that employers must follow their own retirement system rules and cannot arbitrarily deny benefits that workers have earned.