Opinion ID: 2070577
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: erisa applicability

Text: [¶ 11] According to Niehoff, his state law claims were preempted by ERISA pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 1144 (1985 & Supp. 1993). [2] See, e.g., Carpenters Local Union No. 26 v. U.S. Fid. & Guar. Co., 215 F.3d 136, 139 (1st Cir.2000). The governing statute, 29 U.S.C. § 1002(1) (Supp.1993) defines a welfare plan as any plan, program or fund established or maintained by an employer that provides certain benefits to employees. [3] These benefits include, for example, benefits in the event of disability, death, unemployment, vacation benefits, health benefits, day care centers and prepaid legal services. 1 LEE T. POLK, ERISA PRAC. & LIT. § 2.04 (2000 ed.). [¶ 12] L.L. Bean's severance benefits plan may fit the statutory requirements of an ERISA welfare plan, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Fort Halifax Packing Co., Inc. v. Coyne, 482 U.S. 1, 107 S.Ct. 2211, 96 L.Ed.2d 1 (1987) (in which a Maine statute providing for a one-time, lump-sum payment triggered by a single event, a plant closing, was found not to be a preempted ERISA plan). In Fort Halifax, the Court stated: The requirement of a one-time, lumpsum payment triggered by a single event requires no administrative scheme whatsoever to meet the employer's obligation. The employer assumes no responsibility to pay benefits on a regular basis, and thus faces no periodic demands on its assets that create a need for financial coordination and control. Id. at 12, 107 S.Ct. 2211. The Court also held that the purpose of preemption is to ensure that the administrative practices of a benefit plan are governed by only a single set of regulations, and this concern arises only when there is an ongoing administrative program. Id. at 11, 107 S.Ct. 2211. See also Belanger v. Wyman-Gordon Co., 71 F.3d 451, 455 (1st Cir. 1995). [¶ 13] Fort Halifax established that the timing and the number of payments are factors in analyzing whether an employer's obligation amounts to an ongoing administrative plan. [4] Section 1.11D of the L.L. Bean Policy and Procedures Manual, entitled Severance Benefits and dated 8/1/87, addresses the conditions under which an employee is eligible for severance pay. [5] [¶ 14] Under the L.L. Bean plan, not all dismissed or laid-off employees will be eligible to receive severance pay. Eligibility depends on the type of position held and the reason for termination, and exclusions apply for discharge for disciplinary reasons or discharge for gross misconduct. The payments are made once, lump-sum, at the time the last paycheck is issued. However, the severance payment plan is administered with some elements of discretion and on an ongoing basis as employees terminate and their eligibility for severance pay must be evaluated. Thus, it appears that the L.L. Bean severance payment plan surpasses the theoretical possibility of a one-time obligation in the future that the Fort Halifax Court held simply creates no need for an ongoing administrative program for processing claims and paying benefits. Fort Halifax, 482 U.S. at 12, 107 S.Ct. 2211. See also Simas v. Quaker Fabric Corp. of Fall River, 6 F.3d 849, 854 (1st Cir.1993) (where a one-time severance payment authorizing severance pay for employees required the employer to make a case-by-case determination of each employee's eligibility based on several discreet factors and was held to impose ongoing administrative obligations beyond Fort Halifax ); Tischmann v. ITT/Sheraton Corp., 145 F.3d 561, 566 (2d Cir.1998) (existence or nonexistence of administrative discretion in maintaining plan is relevant to ERISA applicability).