A federal district court in Illinois became the first court to rule that an employer’s credit for a prior partial withdrawal should be applied at the end of the statute’s “waterfall” for calculating withdrawal liability. The...more
We recently reported on a district court decision holding that the Central States Pension Fund’s calculation of withdrawal liability should not have included contribution rate increases imposed after the Fund’s implementation...more
5/12/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Withdrawal Liability
In Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund v. Sheets Enterprise, No. 24 cv 2277 (N.D. Ill.), a district court held that an employer could not avoid being held liable for withdrawal liability simply because it...more
4/23/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Business Entities ,
Dissolution ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Jurisdiction ,
Pensions ,
Preemption ,
Statute of Limitations
In Central States, S.E. & S.W. Pension Fund v. McKesson Corp., No. 23-cv-16770, 2025 WL 81358 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 13, 2025), the district court affirmed that a multiemployer pension plan’s calculation of withdrawal liability...more
Multiemployer benefit plans generally require contributing employers to submit “remittance reports” that identify the employees that performed covered work, the type of work performed, and the amount of time worked. Plans...more
1/27/2025
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pensions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Unions
Under 29 U.S.C. § 1301(b)(1), all “trades or businesses” under common control with an employer that has withdrawn from a multiemployer pension plan are jointly and severally liable for the employer’s withdrawal liability. ...more
When an employer withdraws from a multiemployer pension plan, the plan’s trustees must notify the employer of the amount of its withdrawal liability and demand payment. Employers assessed with withdrawal liability often...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
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
6/13/2024
/ Article III ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pensions ,
Standing ,
Trustees ,
Trusts ,
Unions ,
Withdrawal Liability
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
In Kanefsky v. Ford Motor Co. Gen. Ret. Plan, No. 22-cv-2259, 10548 U.S. Dist. 2023 WL 186800 (E.D. Mich. Jan. 13, 2023), the court granted a motion to dismiss a pension plan participant’s claim that the plan was equitably...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a withdrawal liability decision of which both multiemployer pension plans and their contributing employers should be aware. Specifically, in National Retirement Fund v. Metz...more
In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a look at a pair of cases that, while unrelated, together remind us of the importance of having clear plan rules in place that reflect the plan sponsor’s intention. The first article...more
10/11/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Withdrawal Liability
For a multiemployer pension fund to hold an asset purchaser liable for withdrawal liability as a successor-in-interest, the fund must establish that the purchaser was (i) on notice of the seller’s withdrawal liability, and...more
Editor’s Overview -
In this issue of Proskauer's ERISA Litigation Newsletter, we review a recent ruling by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals concerning the application of controlled group principles to the building...more
6/1/2016
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Arbitrators ,
COBRA ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Construction Industry ,
Controlled Groups ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Notice Requirements ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Wage and Hour ,
Withdrawal Liability