Retired town school principal brought action against town, seeking injunctive and declaratory relief, alleging that town had violated her right to payment by town of premiums for a portion of group medical health insurance plan governed by local option statute. The Superior Court entered summary judgment in favor of principal, and town appealed.
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts held that town could not enact retirement policy imposing a ten-year minimum term of service as a prerequisite to premium contributions.
Town that had adopted local option statute providing for group health insurance for town employees could not enact retirement policy imposing a ten-year minimum term of service as a prerequisite to premium contributions from the town, and thus retired school principal with only six years of service with town was entitled to contributions from town for cost of participating in group health insurance plan. Statute adopted by town mandated that town contribute more than 50% of premiums of “employees retired from the service of the town,” and town could not alter terms of statute.