Bankruptcy court clarifies Yellow Corp. owes pensions | WSJ - A Del. bankruptcy court stated Yellow Corp. is liable for some portion of the $6.5 billion in withdrawal liability claims, but the exact amount to be paid is...more
A recent ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit serves provides a valuable reminder for multiemployer pension funds and contributing employers regarding ERISA’s withdrawal liability notice and demand...more
In July, the Third Circuit upheld a District of New Jersey decision to throw out a withdrawal liability assessment, finding the multiemployer pension fund was barred from pursuing its claim because the fund unreasonably...more
Employers may be bound by multiemployer pension plans’ trust agreements and collections policies, but the force of these governing documents may have its limits. In Nevada Resorts Ass’n–Int’l All. of Theatrical Stage Emps....more
The U.S. Supreme Court recently overturned the decades-old Chevron doctrine of judicial deference to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute. (See “Go Fish! U.S. Supreme Court Overturns ‘Chevron Deference’...more
In Buckner v. Murray, No. 21-cv-567, 2024 WL 1366785 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2024), the court dismissed the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan’s suit to collect $6.5 billion in withdrawal liability because the trustees...more
Successor liability is a powerful collection tool for multiemployer plans under ERISA. It most commonly arises in the context of asset sales (although it is not limited to that situation)....more
On March 29, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued its decision in Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Event Media, Inc. In a matter of first impression for...more
In Bulk Transp. v. Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund, No. 23-1563, 2024 WL 1230236 (7th Cir. Mar. 22, 2024), the Seventh Circuit held that the contributions used to calculate an employer’s withdrawal liability may include...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law, especially since the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace. In order to ensure you stay on top of the latest changes and have an action plan...more
Last Friday, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed a district court’s decision upholding an arbitration award requiring an employer to pay more than $2.3 million in...more
In a classic man-bites-dog turnaround, a federal appeals court ordered a Teamsters pension fund to return approximately $2 million in withdrawal liability payments to an employer that had stopped contributing in 2005. The...more
An employer can contest a withdrawal liability assessment and ultimately prevail. That is the moral of Bulk Transport Corp. v. Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund, No. 23-1563 (7th Cir. Mar. 22, 2024). Withdrawal...more
On February 9, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued its decision in Trustees of IAM Nat'l Pension Fund v. M & K Emp. Sols., LLC, No. 22-7157 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 9, 2024), affirming the district court’s...more
Unionized employers participating in an underfunded multiemployer pension plan face significant financial exposure when withdrawing (completely or partially) from the plan. The cost (called “withdrawal liability”) is...more
In Svenhard’s Swedish Bakery v. United States Bakery, Bk. No. 19-15277, 2023 WL 5541420 (9th Cir. Aug. 29, 2023), the Ninth Circuit held that a settlement agreement that resolved an employer’s withdrawal liability to a...more
The Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act of 1974 (MPPAA) was enacted purposefully by Congress to seize moneys from contributing employers to fund multiemployer defined benefit pension funds regardless of the employers’...more
Withdrawal liability is a major concern for many employers with collectively bargained operations. While special rules applicable to the construction industry can limit the circumstances under which liability can be imposed,...more
In Holland v. Murray, No. 21-cv-567, 2023 WL 2645708 (D.D.C. Mar. 27, 2023), the court held that financial support provided by Congress to a multiemployer pension plan under the Bipartisan American Miners Act (“BAMA”) did not...more
A recent decision from the Southern District of New York reveals that courts may be inclined in some withdrawal liability cases to narrowly apply the building and construction industry exemption based on the nature and...more
Grajales v. Commissioner - In Grajales v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed whether the ten percent exaction under Section 72(t) (Exaction) is considered a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Another court has found that actuaries who set discount rates for withdrawal liability purposes that are not based upon their “best estimate of anticipated experience” for investments under the plan—in...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is now allowing multiemployer pension plans that are applying for special financial assistance (SFA) to request relief from the standard withdrawal liability calculation...more
POTUS Re-ups Labor Nominees. This week, President Biden renominated Jessica Looman to serve as administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division and José Javier Rodriguez to serve as assistant...more
Christmas came early this year for the beleaguered Teamsters Central States Pension Fund and its over 350,000 participants – but employers may soon realize they just received a lump of coal in their stockings. On December 8,...more