Cleveland Law Library Weblog

President Signs Deficit Reduction Act

President Bush signed S. 1932, which will increase employer pension premiums paid to the PBGC.  See our prior post:   Congress Agrees to Increase Employer Pension Premiums.  See also President Signs S.1932, Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 , Whitehouse.gov - News.

Sixth Circuit Holds Retirees Entitled to Lifetime Medical Benefits

Per RIA Pension and Benefits Week Newsletter, Feb. 13, 2006, Vol.12, No. 7:  "A Sixth Circuit panel has upheld an earlier district court injunction that forced restoration of lifetime medical benefits for retirees on the grounds that, despite intervening corporate reorganizations, those health benefits were vested under the terms of their labor contract. (Yolton v. El Paso Tennessee Pipeline Co. (2006, CA6) 2006 WL 89152 )."  See Yolton v. El Paso Tennesse Pipeline Co. (Jan. 17, 2006), Sixth Circuit Case No. 04-1182, 04-1818, 04-1821, 04-2492.

Congress Agrees to Increase Employer Pension Premiums

The House passed S. 1932, the Deficit Reduction Act, as modified by the Senate.  The president is expected to sign the bill.

The bill shores up the Pension Benefits Guarantee Corporation by increasing employer premiums from $19 to $30 per participant, starting in 2006; increasing the premium paid by managers of multi-employer pension plans from $2.60 to $8.00 per participant, starting in 2006; and charging employers termination premiums.  See Statement by Education & the Workforce Committee Chairman John Boehner , Feb. 1, 2006. 

Unions Will Sue to Enforce New Ohio Law Banning Residency Requirements

The Firefighters Union plans to bring an action in the Eighth District Court of Appeals to force the City of Cleveland to follow S.B. 82.   This recently enacted state law bans cities from imposing residency requirements on its workers.  Mayor Frank Jackson said he believes S.B. 82 is unconsitutional, and threatened to fire city employees who move out of Cleveland.  The City said it would file its own lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the residency requirement ban.  Safety Forces Plan Lawsuit Seeking End to Cleveland's Residency Rule by Jim Nichols, The Plain Dealer, Jan. 30, 2006. 

Ohio House Passes Ban on City Residency Requirements

The Ohio Legislature's webpage indicates that the House has passed SB 82, the legislation banning city residency requirements.  The Senate has already passed this bill.  The Governor is known to be in favor of the bill, and will probably sign it.  See Bill to Ban Residency Rules is Up for Vote , The Plain Dealer, Jan. 18, 2006.  The House Journal with the final vote will appear at: Journals from the 126th General Assembly.

New USERRA Regulations Effective 1-18-06

The Department of Labor has adopted final regulations pertaining to the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.  The final rules modify the interim rule regarding employee notification of rights, issued March 10, 2005, and the proposed rules issued on September 20, 2004, concerning the implementation of USERRA.  See Department of Labor - VETS Final Rules

NPR Reports on Miami University Domestic Partner Benefit Lawsuit

NPR reports on the lawsuit filed by an Ohio senator, claiming that Miami University's domestic partner benefits violate the Ohio Constitution.  The plaintiff asserts that Miami University uses marriage to define eligibility for heterosexual couples, so the granting of benefits to homosexual couples creates a relationship approximating marriage, in violation of Article 15, Section 11 of the Ohio Constitution.   Ohio College Sued Over Same-Sex Benefits by Tana Weingartner, Dec. 27, 2005.  See our previous post Lawsuit Challenges Miami University's Domestic Partner Benefits.

Ohio Bill Banning City Residency Requirements Will Probably Pass

Ohio House Speaker Husted told incoming Mayor Frank Jackson that the Ohio bill banning residency requirements will probably pass this month.  See Cuyahoga County Planning Commission Weblog, Dec. 21, 2005 and Channel 3 News Report.  See our previous post: City Worker Residency Requirement May be Banned by Ohio Legislature, Aug. 11, 2005.

House Passes Pension Reform Bill

The U.S. House of Representatives passed HR 2830, their version of pension reform.  The Senate had previously passed a pension reform bill, so a compromise bill will need to be worked out.  For an article summarizing the key components of the House bill see:  House Passes Bill to Bolster Pension Plans and Pension Bill Provisions by Jim Abrams, The Plain Dealer, December 16, 2005. For information on the Senate's pension reform bill, see our previous post Senate Passes Pension Reform.  Also see our previous post: Congress Attempts Pension Reform.   For comparison of the House and Senate bills, see National Council on Teacher Retirement: Comparison of House and Senate Pension Bills, 11/30/2005 and Your retirement money: Changes Ahead by Jean Sahadi, CNN Money, Dec. 1, 2005.  But be cautioned that changes were made to the House bill after these comparison charts were written.  House GOP Reaches Deal with UAW on Pension Reform, U.S.A. Today, Dec. 13, 2005. 

NLRB Swings from Pro-Labor to Pro-Management, Frequently Overturning Decisions

For the past twenty years, the NLRB has swung from being in favor of management, to labor and back again. When a Republican is in the White House, typically 3 of the 5 Board members favor management, and when Democrats are in power, the majority of the Board are in favor of unions. Labor lawyers are often frustrated, as decisions are regularly overturned based on the makeup of the Board. See Ideological Appointments to National Labor Relations Board Lead to Seesaw Decision Making that Frustrates Both Sides and Key NLRB Cases by Allison Grant, The Plain Dealer, December 16, 2005.  For information on NLRB board members, go to: NLRB Board Members.  For information on NLRB decisions, go to: NLRB Homepage.