Fairness and equity are core issues for the union's law enforcement officers

The FPE/AFT-affiliated Kansas Association of Public Employees (KAPE) has filed a lawsuit against the state over unequal access to the Kansas Police and Firemen's Pension Fund (KP&F). KAPE argues that the exclusion of some state-employed sworn law enforcement officers from the KP&F is a violation of the state constitution.

KP&F offers full retirement at age 55, a sharp contrast to the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, which offers full benefits at age 65 or when the employee's age and years of service add up to 85.

To date, the Kansas Legislature has authorized KP&F enrollment for agents of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, state troopers and police officers at state universities.

KAPE estimates that 290 state-employed sworn law enforcement officers wrongfully have been denied access to KP&F, including conservation officers and supervisors, alcohol enforcement agents and supervisors, fire investigators and capital area police officers.

"Every state-certified, gun-carrying state law enforcement officer faces the same risks and should, therefore, be covered by the same retirement system," says Wayne Weible, a KAPE member and an enforcement agent for the Kansas Alcoholic Beverage Control Division of the Department of Revenue, who faults the Legislature for the disparate treatment.

"Contract negotiations in [KAPE's] law enforcement units have resulted in management's side of the bargaining table saying that KP&F participation is a legislative decision and that management would not oppose the inclusion of those officers in KP&F," he says, noting that "the Legislature, on the other hand, has dragged [its] feet for a number of years, [choosing] not to do the right thing for all of its law enforcement officers."