MOSCOW, Idaho -- A judge has thrown out a lawsuit brought by 268 former University of Idaho employees seeking to have their early retirement benefits restored. The Lewiston Tribune reports 2nd District Judge John Stegner awarded summary judgement to the University of Idaho. Stegner said the UI Faculty-Staff Handbook reserved the right of the State Board of Education and the university to change benefits, and the handbook was incorporated into the retirement agreements by reference. Facing budget woes in 1998 and 2002, the university offered extra benefits to entice some highly paid employees into early retirement. In 2007, the university reduced some of those benefits in an effort to save money; prompting the former employees to sue.
