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
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
If an employer withdraws from a multiemployer pension plan such that the employer no longer has an obligation to contribute to the plan, the withdrawing employer is generally responsible for its share of the plan’s...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
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 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
I recently blogged about a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision that tagged a buyer of the assets of a company contributing to a multiemployer plan with withdrawal liability that the seller had not paid. A recent Ninth...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