Employment Law This Week: Sexual Orientation Discrimination Suits, Tip Pooling, Successor Liability, Trade Secrets, Workplace Solicitation
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
It’s no secret that the statutory deck under ERISA is stacked heavily in favor of multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs) and against employers contributing to (or withdrawing from) Taft-Hartley trust funds....more
On January 27, 2022, in New York State Teamsters Conference Pension and Retirement Fund v. C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., the Second Circuit joined the Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits in applying the doctrine of successor...more
As a general rule, an asset purchaser does not assume the seller’s liabilities, including its ERISA obligations. Courts, however, have formulated an exception to this general rule via the doctrine of successor liability. ...more
The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to sell assets of the bankruptcy estate "free and clear" of "any interest" in the property asserted by a non-debtor is an important tool designed...more
When I speak with employers about the onerous obligations under ERISA and the court decisions that followed, I frequently tell them that the “E” in ERISA stands for “employee,” not employer. It’s good to keep this in mind...more
The Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and Michigan) recently expanded successor liability for an underfunded pension plan to an asset purchaser holding common control over assets purchased from...more
Pension funding obligations for Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) pension plans are not limited to the immediate employer and sponsor of the pension plan. A recent decision from the 6th U.S Circuit Court of...more
Given the Ninth Circuit’s recent holding that successor withdrawal liability is governed by a constructive notice standard, private equity companies and other businesses seeking to acquire other enterprises should be...more
On June 1, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that an asset purchaser that was deemed a successor was liable to pay the seller’s withdrawal liability even though the purchaser did not have actual...more
The district court erred in finding a multiemployer pension plan did not show sufficient continuity of business operations to support imposing successor liability on an asset purchaser, the federal appeals court in Chicago...more
In Resilient Floor Covering Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees v. Michael’s Floor Covering, Inc., 801 F.3d 1079 (9th Cir. Sept. 11, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit joined the Seventh Circuit in...more
In a recent decision that has important implications for purchasers of assets that come with a multiemployer union pension plan, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in Tsareff v. ManWeb Services, Inc., 794...more
In Tsareff v. ManWeb Services, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that an asset purchaser’s pre-closing knowledge of a seller’s potential multiemployer plan withdrawal liability could be sufficient...more
The Ninth Circuit, in Resilient Floor Covering Pension Trust Fund Board of Trustees v. Michael’s Floor Covering, Inc., Case No. 12-17675 (9th Cir. Sept. 11, 2015), joined the Seventh Circuit in finding that an asset...more
Here’s your short-form Monday Briefing for the first week of October....more
Recent court decisions suggest that parties engaged in corporate asset sale transactions involving potential multiemployer pension plan liability should give extra consideration to the structure and terms of their...more
Many asset buyers believe that, as long as they do not agree to ERISA Section 4204’s sale of assets exception to withdrawal liability, they will acquire the seller’s assets free and clear of any prior contribution history and...more
The Sixth Circuit recently held that a venue selection clause in an ERISA-governed pension plan was enforceable and, in so ruling, refused to give deference to the DOL’s contrary position. See Smith v. AEGON Cos. Pension...more
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that an employer can be liable for its predecessor’s violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Thompson v. Real Estate Mortgage Network, No. 12-3828 (3d Cir. Apr. 4, 2014)....more