Aug 9, 2017 1 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – A fired district court law clerk has sued a Pennsylvania county’s retirement system, saying it hasn’t set forth clear guidelines to determine how employees qualify for disability pensions.

Fifty-five-year-old Susan Donahue says in Wednesday’s lawsuit that she’s been sparring with Allegheny County and its retirement system since 2012. That’s when she contends a series of previous back injuries finally became disabling.

Donahue says doctors consulted by the retirement system didn’t agree with her doctors’ findings that she was completely disabled. She’s been receiving Social Security disability benefits since February 2015. Her attorneys say she’s due county benefits, too.

Donahue also wants a judge to deem her lawsuit a class action and, eventually, force the retirement system to develop objective guidelines for disability pension eligibility.

The retirement system’s attorney says he will comment later.