The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a class action brought against electronics giant Siemens by 277 plaintiffs who said they were entitled to pension benefits if their employment ended.
Judge Morton I. Greenberg, writing for a unanimous panel that included Judges Dolores K. Sloviter and Thomas I. Vanaskie, said Wednesday in Shaver v. Siemens Corp. that Siemens is entitled to summary judgment because it did not violate the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) by not providing “permanent job separation” pension benefits if the plaintiffs’ employment terminated because of job movement, product line relocation or location closedown.
