In re the State Employees' Ass'n of New Hampshire, Inc.

The issues raised by this petition for a writ of certiorari are (1) whether the New Hampshire Personnel Appeals Board (the board) improperly determined that the petitioners, Thomas Robinson et al, were not entitled to a retroactive pay increase; and (2) whether the board erred in denying the petitioners a hearing on the merits of their appeal. For the reasons that follow, *555we hold that the petitioners are entitled to retroactive pay as a matter of law.

In the fall of 1983, a number of mental health workers and certified nursing assistants employed at the New Hampshire Hospital requested that…