Takeaways- • The Ninth Circuit recently adopted a broader definition of work performed in “the building and construction industry,” potentially expanding the availability of the special definition of complete withdrawal...more
When an employer withdraws from a multiemployer pension plan, its maximum annual payment is based on all contributions it was required to remit to the plan. In SuperValu Inc. v. United Food and Commercial Workers Unions and...more
Under ERISA, a participating employer that withdraws from a multiemployer pension plan must pay its share of the plan’s unfunded vested benefits (i.e., its withdrawal liability). ERISA’s “controlled group” rules extend this...more
On September 16, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in In re Yellow Corp., No. 25-1421: (i) upheld regulations issued by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (“PBGC”) that partially exclude...more
The Supreme Court kicked off a new term on October 6 and is set to decide several key cases in the coming year that could have big effects on employers for years to come. Here’s a preview of the top cases on the Court’s...more
On September 2, 2025, Arbitrator Ira F. Jaffe refused to invalidate a 14-year-old withdrawal liability assessment merely because the pension fund did not issue the assessment “as soon as practicable,” as required by 29 U.S.C....more
In Board of Trustees of the PAMCAH-UA Local 675 Pension Fund v. SMAC Hawaii, Inc., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 192966 (D. Haw. Sept. 30, 2025), the pension fund sought to collect over $610,000 in ERISA withdrawal liability from...more
In Perfection Bakeries Inc. v. Retail Wholesale & Dep’t Store Int’l Union & Indus. Pension Fund, No. 23-12533, 147 F.4th 1314 (11th Cir. Aug. 1, 2025), the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that an employer’s credit for a prior...more
On August 19, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri issued a notable opinion in Longroad Asset Management LLC v. Boilermaker-Blacksmith National Pension Trust where it addressed whether a private...more
When an employer has an obligation to contribute to a multiemployer pension fund, and the fund is underfunded (a deficit between assets and future projected payout obligations), an employer who ceases to have an obligation to...more
ERISA is widely regarded as a remedial statute. As a result, employers who are pursued by multiemployer pension plans for withdrawal liability face an uphill battle when trying to recoup attorneys’ fees (often substantial)...more
U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals - Pop v. LuliFama.com - class action, FDUTPA, influencers - Perfection Bakeries v. Retail Wholesale - pension fund, withdrawal liability - Bayse v. Philbin - qualified...more
Just before its summer recess, the Supreme Court agreed to review whether multiemployer pension funds can impose withdrawal liability based on actuarial assumptions adopted after the relevant plan year. The expected decision...more
A multiemployer plan that prevails in an action to collect delinquent contributions or withdrawal liability is statutorily entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs “of the action.” In International Painters &...more
Takeaway Related Links Article The Third Circuit’s recent ruling enhanced a pension fund’s ability to pursue withdrawal liability collection against affiliated employers. The decision underscores the evolving nature of ERISA,...more
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
Holding a settlement agreement was a revised withdrawal liability assessment, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit rejected a group of dairy companies’ petition to dismiss a pension fund’s claim to enforce a $39...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
On April 24, 2025, the Seventh Circuit upheld a Northern District of Illinois decision requiring a multiemployer pension plan to exclude the employers’ post-2014 rehabilitation plan contribution rate increases from the...more
In Central States, Se. & W. Areas Pension Fund v. Laguna Dairy, S. de R.L. de C.V., No. 23-3206 (3d Cir. 2025 Mar. 27, 2025), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (“Third Circuit”) reversed the district...more
A recent decision from the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in In re Yellow Corp. could have widespread implications for bankruptcy cases, including municipal bankruptcy cases. Of particular interest, the Judge...more
A recent case from the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Local No. 499, Board of Trustees of Shopmen's Pension Plan v. Art Iron, Inc., et al., 177 F. 4th 923 (6th Cir. 2024), clarifies a significant legal...more
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 a New York waste operator took over a waste hauling and recycling contract for Westchester County last year, the successful acquisition of a multimillion-dollar business opportunity turned into a pension liability...more
A bankruptcy court in Delaware recently upheld rules issued by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) that severely impact how liability is calculated for employers withdrawing from multiemployer pension plans...more