Gzaskow v. Public Employees Ret. Bd.

**Public Employee Must Use Internal Process Before Going to Court** This case involved public employees who had a dispute with the Public Employees Retirement Board about their retirement benefits. Instead of going through the board's internal complaint process first, the employees went straight to court to sue the retirement board. The New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled against the employees and threw out their case. The court said the employees couldn't skip the retirement board's own complaint process and go directly to court. Under the Public Employees Retirement Act, workers must first try to resolve their disputes through the board's administrative process before they can file a lawsuit. This decision matters for public employees because it shows they must follow the proper steps when challenging retirement benefit decisions. If you work for a government agency and have a problem with your retirement benefits, you typically cannot go straight to court. You must first file a complaint through your employer's or the retirement system's internal process and give them a chance to resolve the issue. Only after going through those steps and still not getting satisfaction can you then take your case to court. Skipping these required steps will likely result in your case being dismissed.