24 CAR § 10-1018. Manifest injustice

(a) The Board of Trustees of the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System may waive or modify the impact of a rule, provision, or law applicable to the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System that does not violate a federal law or jeopardize the tax qualified status of the system in order to prevent a manifest injustice to: (1) A member; (2) A benefit participant; (3) A covered employer; or (4) The system. (b)(1) The process of declaring a manifest injustice is a rare and extraordinary remedy that shall not be used as a routine method of addressing: (A) Error; (B) Oversight; or (C) Simple mistake. (2) As an extraordinary remedy, manifest injustice shall be cautiously and carefully used to: (A) Prevent unfairness; (B) Preserve the integrity of the system; and (C) Avoid or correct unduly harsh or unconscionable outcomes. (c) In determining whether or not a manifest injustice exists, the system may consider: (1) The degree of fault of the system, benefit participant, or employer; (2) An ambiguity in the interpretation of the circumstances, rule, or law; (3) The cost to the system of correcting the error that is far outweighed by the benefit afforded to the system, benefit participant, or employer; (4) Whether or not an expedited decision is in the public interest; (5) The fundamental fairness of a remedy in a particular situation; and (6) Whether or not the status quo would result in an unconscionable outcome. (d)(1) The manifest injustice process shall not be used to address a change, omission, or error in the records of the system that may be corrected within the look-back period. (2) The manifest injustice process may be used to correct a change, omission, or error in the records of the system discovered after the look-back period if the board determines that the time limitation imposed by the look-back period would cause a manifest injustice.