A recent US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruling determined that a pipeline inspector’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit against an energy company could not be adjudicated without involving the subcontractor that paid his wages. According to this Law360 article, the Tenth Circuit ruled that the inspector was trying to play “fast and loose with the courts” and using his subcontractor contract “to his advantage when it suits him and disavow it when it does not.” McDermott Partner Rachel Cowen represented the subcontractor.
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 was enacted to set minimum participation, fiduciary and nondiscrimination standards for employee benefit plans and to protect employees when an employer voluntarily established retirement and health care plans in private industry. Employers also benefited from ERISA’s enactment because ERISA made nationwide administration of benefit plans easier through federal preemption of most conflicting state laws. Although ERISA preemption covers most state laws that impact plan administration, judicial rulings on certain ERISA issues, including estoppel claims, are creating new challenges for nationwide and uniform benefit administration.
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