The U.S. Supreme Court won’t stop some federal judges from getting cost-of-living increases promised to them by Congress but never paid, a move that could end up increasing the salaries of all federal judges. The high court on April 22 refused to hear an appeal of a decision ordering the money to six federal judges. Congress in 1989 limited federal judges’ ability to earn money outside of their job, giving them instead automatic cost-of-living increases. But Congress withheld those cost-of-living increases in 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2007 and 2010, while giving other federal employees their promised increases.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in October ordered Congress to pay the six federal judges who sued for back pay, saying the Constitution ordered that compensation for federal judges "shall not be diminished during their continuance in office" (NYLJ, Oct. 10, 2012). While the decision only applies to a small number of judges now, it could expand to the rest of the federal judiciary if a companion class action lawsuit moves forward.
