Employees' Retirement System of Georgia v. Harris

# What Happened Harris filed a case challenging the Employees' Retirement System of Georgia's (ERS) decision to deny him disability benefits. Harris also claimed the ERS had broken a contract with him. The case went to trial court, which attempted to review ERS's benefits decision. # What the Court Decided The appeals court ruled that the trial court had made a mistake. The trial court did not have the legal power to review ERS's benefits denial decision. The appeals court sent the case back to the trial court with instructions to focus only on whether ERS had actually broken a contract with Harris, rather than reviewing the benefits decision itself. # Why This Matters for Workers This case shows there are specific rules about which courts can review certain benefits decisions. Workers challenging disability benefit denials need to follow the correct legal process. Simply taking a case to any court may not work—the right court must have authority to hear that particular type of dispute. If you're denied benefits, it's important to understand which court or agency can actually help you.