SAN DIEGO -- The union that represents San Diego's firefighters lost a bid to have overtime calculated in pension benefits, it was announced Monday.

Judge Judith Hayes ruled that overtime pay is expressly excluded from retirement compensation calculations.

Officials from San Diego City Firefighters Local 145 did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the Oct. 27 ruling.

According to the City Attorney's Office, had the union's lawsuit been successful, it would have added "significant" pension benefits to both current and former employees who work overtime.

"I hope the word is getting out that these lawsuits against the city, seeking to expand pension benefits beyond what the law permits, are a complete waste of time and money," City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said.

The firefighters union had argued that when an employee is regularly scheduled to work overtime, that extra pay should be factored into their base salary, which is used to calculate pensions.