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Constitutional Law Keyed to Choper
Allied Structural Steel Co. v. Spannaus
Citation:
438 U.S. 234 (1978)Facts
In 1974, Allied Structural Steel maintained an office in Minnesota with 30 employees. The company had established a pension plan in 1963 that provided for vesting of pension rights when employees met certain age and service requirements, such as working 15 years and reaching age 60, or other combinations of age and service. The company was the sole contributor to the pension fund and retained the right to amend or terminate the plan. In April 1974, Minnesota enacted the Private Pension Benefits Protection Act, which required employers of 100+ employees who closed a Minnesota office to pay a “pension funding charge” if pension funds were insufficient to cover full pensions for all employees with at least 10 years of service, regardless of whether their rights had vested under the plan’s terms. When Allied began closing its Minnesota office in summer 1974 and discharged 11 employees, at least nine of whom had worked for the company for 10+ years but had no vested pension rights under the company’s plan, Minnesota assessed a charge of approximately $185,000 under the Act.
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