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Constitutional Law Keyed to Stone
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. 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 with 100+ employees who closed a Minnesota office to provide pension funding for all employees who had worked at least 10 years, regardless of whether they had vested under the original plan terms. When Allied began closing its Minnesota office in July 1974, the state assessed a pension funding charge of approximately $185,000 for employees who had worked 10+ years but whose pension rights had not vested under the company’s plan.
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