An Illinois appellate court on Tuesday agreed that back wages owed to employees of five state agencies should be paid in full even though the legislature didn�t allocate enough money to make the payments when they were originally due.

An independent arbitrator first ruled over a year ago that the state was obligated to pay $112 million in pay raises to employees of the departments of Corrections, Public Health, Juvenile Justice, Natural Resources and Human Services.

The First District Appellate Court tossed out the yearlong appeal from Attorney General Lisa Madigan that sought to vacate the award, even though Gov. Pat Quinn asked her to drop the appeal.

�We hold that the arbitrator�s award comports with the overriding public policy of permitting the State to negotiate enforceable multiyear collective bargaining agreements with unions of state employees, and the award furthers the express constitutional policy forbidding the General Assembly from passing any acts, including insufficient appropriations bills, that impair the obligation of contracts,� the court wrote.

�Today�s decision is a win for working men and women who serve all the people of Illinois,� American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 executive director Roberta Lynch said. �A contract is a contract, it means what it says, and no employer � not state government or anyone else � can unilaterally withhold wages owed.�

The appellate ruling comes after legislators passed and Quinn approved a supplemental appropriation early this summer to pay the employees $50 million, less than half of what they were owed.

At issue were wage increases owed to state employees between July 2011 and July 2013. The General Assembly opted to hold off on paying the wages when they were originally due because the state had run out of money, prompting the AFSCME suit.

�Our union will continue to work to ensure that the state fulfills its obligation, honors the union contract and pays every employee what each is owed as quickly as possible,� Lynch said. Contact Tobias Wall: toby.wall@sj-r.com, 788-1519, twitter.com/Wall_SJR.