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Arbitration Retirement Plan

Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties... more +
Arbitration is a widely-used method for settling disputes between parties. During arbitration, parties submit their dispute to an impartial third person or party, usually chosen by the parties. Typically, parties to arbitration agree in advance to be bound by the arbitrator's decision. Arbitration is an alternative to litigation, but it shares many of the familiar features of litigation. Namely, parties to arbitration hold hearings before neutral decision-makers, present evidence and argue the merits of their position. Parties often choose arbitration due to its perceived advantages over litigation. Those perceived advantages include greater efficiency and flexibility, and lower costs. less -
Jackson Lewis P.C.

Withdrawal Liability Collection Scope Expanded

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

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

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Holds Pension Fund Misapplied Prior Partial Withdrawal Liability Credit

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

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Withdrawal Liability: Third Circuit Paves New Path for Pension Funds to Collect from Affiliated Employers

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

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

Conn Maciel Carey LLP

CMC Attorney Mark Trapp Secures Favorable Ruling in $23M Pension Dispute

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on

In 2017, Consumers partially withdrew from the Central States, Southeast and Southwest Areas Pension Fund. The fund said the company owed $11.3 million (or monthly payments of $42,200 for 20 years) for its share of the fund’s...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

March 2025 California Employment Law Notes

We invite you to review our newly-posted, March 2025 California Employment Law Notes, a comprehensive review of the latest and most significant developments in California employment law....more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Pensions and Leaves of Absences – No Extension of Canada Labour Code Protections to Other Retirement or Savings Plans

Stikeman Elliott LLP on

In the decision of WestJet Encore v ALPA, dated March 31, 2025, Arbitrator Kaplan held that a Canada Labour Code (the “Code”) provision which requires that pension (as well as health and disability) benefits continue to be...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Second Circuit Renders Important Decision on Vested Retiree Benefits

In a significant ruling on February 5, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed the enforceability of an arbitration provision in an expired collective bargaining agreement (CBA) in the case of Xerox...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

District Court Rules Employer’s Withdrawal Liability Cannot Be Based on Post-Rehabilitation Plan Contribution Increases

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

JAMS

Recent Developments in the Enforcement of ERISA Class Action Waiver and Arbitration Clauses

JAMS on

In recent months, various federal district and circuit courts have considered the enforceability of language in employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans requiring that participants arbitrate their claims for breach of...more

Carlton Fields

Second Circuit Rejects Enforcement of Class Waiver and Arbitration Agreement Under FAA, Finds That Provisions Impermissibly...

Carlton Fields on

The plaintiff sued the trustee of his retirement plan, his former employer, and others for breach of fiduciary duties in connection with the plan’s purchase of shares of the employer’s parent company for more than fair market...more

Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP

Second Circuit Casts Doubt on Overly Restrictive Arbitration Clauses in ERISA Plans

Employers in New York, Connecticut and Vermont should revisit their employee benefit plan documents if they believe that any of their plans may have an arbitration clause for the resolution of Employee Retirement Income...more

Carlton Fields

D.C. Circuit Affirms Decision Vacating and Remanding Arbitration Decision

Carlton Fields on

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court’s decision to vacate and remand an arbitration decision in a case concerning companies’ withdrawal from a retirement fund....more

Littler

D.C. Circuit Breaks from Second Circuit, Finds Pension Fund May Retroactively Change Its Interest Rate Assumptions

Littler on

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

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

District Court Finds Arbitration and Class Action Waiver Provision Enforceable in Retirement Plan

The Eastern District of Kentucky recently became the latest court to weigh in on arbitration and class action waiver provisions in ERISA-governed defined contribution plans. In Merrow v. Horizon Bank, the court found such a...more

Nossaman LLP

[Webinar] Employment & Employee Benefits Law Update: Staying Compliant in 2024 - November 16th, 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm PT

Nossaman LLP on

Join us on November 16, 2023, as Nossaman’s Allison Callaghan, Pavneet Singh Mac, Michelle McCarthy and Julia Botezatu discuss new California employment and employee benefits laws and regulations, as well as recent case law...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Individual Arbitration of ERISA Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims – Is it Possible and, if So, Is It Worth It?

Proskauer Rose LLP on

As plan sponsors and fiduciaries cope with the increased volume of class action Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) lawsuits, some have considered the prospects of reducing their exposure through arbitration...more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

10th Circuit Rejects ERISA Arbitration Provision

Courts have been mixed regarding the enforceability of arbitration provisions in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) retirement plans since the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ 2019 decision in Dorman v. Charles...more

Robinson Bradshaw

Tenth Circuit Prohibits Class-Action Waivers in Benefit Plan Documents

Robinson Bradshaw on

It is no secret that many businesses minimize risk by requiring arbitration of disputes on an individual basis. The exposure created by a single claim pales next to that presented by a class claim, asserted under Rule 23, on...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

What Happens In A Small Town Stays In A Small Town … Until The Tenth Circuit Rejects ERISA Arbitration Provision

While case law regarding the enforceability of arbitration provisions in ERISA retirement plans has been mixed, since the Ninth Circuit’s 2019 decision in Dorman v. Charles Schwab Corp. enforcing a 401(k) plan’s arbitration...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS Review: 8 Key Rulings from Last Term that Impact the Workplace and 3 Issues We’re Watching

Fisher Phillips on

Many employers looked to the Supreme Court last term for clarity in cases with a significant impact on the workplace. The justices continued to shape the employment law landscape by ruling on an array of issues involving...more

Littler

Congress Considers Banning Discretionary Clauses in ERISA Plans

Littler on

On May 12, 2022, the “Employee and Retiree Access to Justice Act” was introduced in the House of Representatives by Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA).  Senator Tina Smith (D-MN) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. The bill seeks...more

Robinson+Cole ERISA Claim Defense Blog

Sixth Circuit Rejects Arbitration Of Certain ERISA § 502(a)(2) Claims, Ruling That Employee Consent To Arbitration May Not Bind...

In Hawkins v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4th __, 2022 WL 1236954 (6th Cir. Apr. 27, 2022), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that an arbitration clause contained in certain individual employment...more

Miller Canfield

Arbitration of Fiduciary Breach Claim Cannot Be Compelled by Relying on Individual Employment Agreements

Miller Canfield on

In Hawkins, et al. v. Cintas Corp., No. 21-3156, __ F.4d __ (2022), plaintiffs brought a class action pursuant to Section 502(a)(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), alleging that their former employer...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Arbitration under ERISA: A Roadmap for Enforcement

As costly class action retirement plan litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) proliferates, mandatory individual arbitration has become an increasingly appealing alternative for certain benefit...more

Carlton Fields

Sixth Circuit Concludes That Kroger Retirement Benefits Dispute Is Governed by Arbitration Clause in Collective Bargaining...

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The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently concluded that a grievance by a Kroger union was included within the scope of an arbitration clause in a collective bargaining agreement....more

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