Employment-related litigation continues to increase and smart employers continue to take proactive steps to guard against race, sex, age, or disability discrimination. Yet, according to Professor Maria O’Brien Hylton, all too often employers are unaware of an increasingly active trend: litigation based on discrimination in ERISA benefits.
ERISA Section 510 makes it unlawful to discharge or otherwise discriminate against any participant for the purpose of interfering with the attainment of any right to which the employee may become entitled under a pension or welfare benefit plan. Moreover, participants or beneficiaries are protected against reprisal for exercising ERISA rights.
