When business or employment attorneys work with employer clients, they usually know that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) may be implicated when there is an issue involving a pension plan or health plan. However, ERISA can touch upon unexpected areas of the employer/employee relationship, from hiring decisions to layoffs, and everything in between. This article will address just a few of the areas where an attorney should consider whether ERISA may become a factor, even if the question does not directly involve an employee benefit plan.
Race, Religion, Sex or Pension Vesting Status
Ask any employment lawyer what the categories of unlawful employment discrimination are, and he or she will quickly name sex, race, age, disability, national origin and ethnicity. But is that list complete? Aside from the obvious employment discrimination laws such as the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, an employment lawyer should also consider ERISA. ERISA §510 explicitly states:
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