OPERATING ENGINEERS’ LOCAL 324 FRINGE BENEFIT FUNDS; TRUSTEES OF THE OPERATING ENGINEERS’ LOCAL 324 FRINGE BENEFIT FUNDS v. RIETH-RILEY CONSTRUCTION CO., INC. - Articles

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OPERATING ENGINEERS’ LOCAL 324 FRINGE BENEFIT FUNDS; TRUSTEES OF THE OPERATING ENGINEERS’ LOCAL 324 FRINGE BENEFIT FUNDS v. RIETH-RILEY CONSTRUCTION CO., INC.

Posted by: Karen Belcher on Aug 8, 2022

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED: Daniel G. LeVan, FINKEL WHITEFIELD SELIK, Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Appellants.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED: Philip Gutwein, II, FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH, Indianapolis, Indiana, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON BRIEF: Daniel G. LeVan, Nancy H. Pearce, FINKEL WHITEFIELD SELIK, Farmington Hills, Michigan, for Appellants.

Attorneys 4: ON BRIEF: Philip Gutwein, II, Emily A. Kile-Maxwell, FAEGRE DRINKER BIDDLE & REATH, Indianapolis, Indiana, for Appellee.

Judge(s): CLAY, DONALD, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit

NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judge. When an employer refuses to pay into its employees’ benefit funds, two federal statutes step in and offer relief. The first statute, ERISA, requires employers to contribute to employee benefit funds in line with the terms of a contract. When an employer breaches those terms, ERISA offers the jilted fund a federal vehicle for its breach-of-contract claim. And that claim comes within the “exclusive jurisdiction” of a federal district court. The second statute, the NLRA, gives employers a statutory duty to continue their contributions even after a contract expires. When an employer breaches that duty, the NLRA provides an unfair-labor-practice claim. And that claim comes within the exclusive purview of an administrative body, the NLRB.

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