PUB. EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYS. OF NEVADA VS. GITTER C/W 69208/69961

**Nevada Court Rules on Retirement Benefits After Criminal Conviction** This case involved a dispute over survivor benefits from Nevada's Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). An employee named Gitter was entitled to retirement benefits, but PERS refused to pay them because of Nevada's "slayer statutes" - laws that typically prevent people from receiving benefits if they killed the person who would have provided those benefits. The Nevada Supreme Court issued a mixed ruling. The court decided that Gitter could receive the retirement benefits despite the slayer statutes applying to PERS survivor benefits. However, PERS was ordered to pay interest on the overdue benefits from before the court judgment, but not interest after the judgment was issued. The court also ruled that PERS could pay up to $1,500 in expert consultant fees at their discretion, and reversed an award of attorney fees. Gitter ultimately received $203,231.76 in damages. **What This Means for Workers:** This case shows that even when criminal laws might seem to block retirement benefits, the specific rules matter greatly. Public employees should understand that their retirement benefits have complex legal protections, and disputes with retirement systems can be successfully challenged in court, though outcomes may be mixed.