Bowles v. Filsinger Jr.

**Police Officer Loses Fight Over Retirement Benefits for Overtime Hours** This case involved a police officer named Bowles who worked for Ogden City and wanted his overtime hours to count toward his retirement benefits. Under Utah's retirement system for public safety workers, employees and employers make contributions based on work hours that help determine future retirement payments. Bowles argued that his overtime hours - any time worked beyond 40 hours per week - should be included when calculating these retirement contributions. The court disagreed and ruled against Bowles. The judge upheld a decision by the State Retirement Board that overtime hours cannot be used for retirement benefit calculations under Utah's Public Safety Retirement Act. The court determined that the law only allows regular work hours, not overtime hours, to count toward retirement benefits. **What This Means for Workers:** This ruling is important for police officers, firefighters, and other public safety workers in Utah. It confirms that working overtime will not boost your retirement benefits, even though you pay into the retirement system on those extra hours. Public safety workers should understand that only their regular 40-hour workweek counts toward building their future retirement benefits, regardless of how much overtime they work.