ERISA Retaliation

Many employers attempt to terminate their employees who have medical conditions in order to cut back on insurance or pension costs. However, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461, which governs many employee benefit plans, prohibits employers from discharging, fining, suspending, expelling, disciplining, or discriminating against plan participants or beneficiaries for exercising or attempting to exercise their rights under ERISA or ERISA plans, or for planning to testify or otherwise taking part in any ERISA-related inquiries or proceedings. 29 U.S.C. § 1140.

ERISA protects employees and other plan participants or beneficiaries who use their benefits. For example, this includes employees who suffer from serious health conditions and thus require extensive or expensive medical care. ERISA also protects employees who take part in inquiries or proceedings related to ERISA, such as investigations of a company’s benefits-plan practices.

Plaintiffs under this statute must show that the alleged discrimination on the part of the defendant was intended either (1) to retaliate against the plaintiff for the exercise of a right, or (2) to interfere with the attainment of an entitled (i.e., vested) right. This typically requires more than a showing that the plaintiff was terminated, for example, shortly after making the employer aware of her high medical expenses; there must typically also be a showing that the employer knew or feared that employee’s medical expenses would increase the employer’s costs under the plan.

The firm’s attorneys have advised scores of employees about their rights under ERISA.  If you are or have experienced ERISA discrimination that you are thinking about reporting, or if you already have and are facing retaliation, contact the experienced lawyers at Katz, Marshall & Banks, LLP for an evaluation of your case with no further obligation.