Opinion ID: 1234568
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: ERISA Applicability

Text: Even if we were to consider the merits of Appellants' argument, however, their appeal fails. [W]hether an employee benefits plan is governed by ERISA is a mixed question of fact and law which we review de novo. Petersen v. E.F. Johnson Co., 366 F.3d 676, 678 (8th Cir.2004). We conclude the district court did not err in finding the IPR is part of an ERISA-governed employee pension plan. An ERISA-governed employee pension benefit plan is defined, in relevant part, as any plan, fund, or program which was ... established or maintained by an employer ... to the extent that by its express terms ... such plan, fund, or program... provides retirement income to employees. 29 U.S.C. § 1002(2)(A). The Supreme Court has emphasized that ERISA governs benefit plans, not benefits standing alone. Fort Halifax Packing Co. v. Coyne, 482 U.S. 1, 7-8, 11-12, 107 S.Ct. 2211, 96 L.Ed.2d 1 (1987). As such, to qualify as a plan under ERISA, an employer's pension program must involve an ongoing administrative scheme. Id. at 11-12, 107 S.Ct. 2211. We have previously identified a number of factors to consider in determining whether a plan has the requisite administrative scheme to qualify as an ERISA benefit plan. Petersen, 366 F.3d at 679. These include: (1) whether the income is provided in a lump-sum payment or over time; (2) whether the employer undertook any long-term obligations; (3) whether the benefits come due upon the occurrence of a single, unique event; and (4) whether the contested program required the employer to engage in a case-by-case review of employees. Id. Much of Appellants' argument against ERISA coverage turns on whether the December 2004 IPR offer is a stand-alone provision or part of a larger benefit plan. Appellants view the IPR offer in isolation; they define the plan as only the 2004 retirement incentive offer to St. Louis employees. We conclude such a compartmentalized approach is improper. We faced a similar challenge in Stearns v. NCR Corp., 297 F.3d 706 (8th Cir.2002). In Stearns, the parties contested whether an enhanced retirement program was an amendment to a pre-existing employee welfare benefit plan or an independent ERISA plan, separate from the broader Group Benefits Plan. Id. at 711. We concluded that the retirement program was an amendment to the existing plan, and not an independent ERISA program. Id. In reaching our decision, we considered the following factors: (1) the materials explaining the retirement program required reference to the existing plan for comprehension; (2) the retirement program materials specifically referenced the existing plan; and (3) the documents adopting the retirement program specified it was an amendment to the existing benefit plan. Id; see Wilson v. Moog Auto., Inc. Pension Plan, 193 F.3d 1004, 1008 (8th Cir.1999) (finding a plant-closing agreement to be part of an ERISA plan when the plan referenced and attempted to incorporate the closing agreement and the plant-closing agreement directed readers to consult an existing ERISA plan). Because the 2004 St. Louis IPR offer is one of a series of IPR offerings Chrysler and the Unions bargained for using the Letter Agreement as a foundation, it is myopic to view the 2004 St. Louis offer in isolation. The offer must be viewed in the larger structure of the Pension Agreement to make sense. Only those eligible for other pension benefits could qualify for this, or any other, IPR offer. Moreover, the IPR is an Incentive Program for Retirements. As evidenced by the multiple offerings with different terms at different locations, IPR is a program, not an isolated offering at any one location. And, the IPR program was premised upon the Letter Agreement, which was incorporated in the Pension Agreement in 2003. As such, we conclude the district court did not err in treating the December 2004 IPR offer as part of the larger Pension Agreement and not as a stand-alone ERISA program. Without question, the Pension Agreement, incorporating the IPR, constitutes an employee benefit plan under ERISA. It clearly involves an ongoing administrative regime and meets the standards outlined in Petersen, 366 F.3d at 679. Because the IPR is part of an ERISA-governed plan, Appellants' claims against both Chrysler and the Unions fail as (1) it is undisputed that an ERISA-governed plan can only be amended in writing, see Walker v. Nat'l City Bank of Minneapolis, 18 F.3d 630, 632 (8th Cir. 1994) (Congress expressly required that all [ERISA plan] terms, in order to be enforceable, be written.), and Appellants allege Chrysler breached an implied term, not a written term, and (2) a breach of contract by the employer is a necessary prerequisite to a claim against a union for a breach of the union's duty of fair representation, Scott v. UAW, 242 F.3d 837, 840 (8th Cir.2001) (stating that employee must prove both a breach by the employer and a breach of duty of fair representation by the union to succeed in a fair representation claim against a union).