%%EOF In 1998, Opeta returned to work for Northwest as a ramp coordinator on light duty, but was terminated from his position as equipment lead supervisor because of his medical condition. WebFind great deals on tickets and receive double points - Northwest frequent flyer points and Expedia rewards points. Law360 takes your privacy seriously. Dr. Gold was clear and emphatic in those responses that Opeta was totally and permanent[sic] disabled from all employment since January 2002 and that [a]t this time, there is no type of work that Mr. Opeta could participate in Moreover, Northwest's insistence that Dr. Gold be called to testify seems to have been entirely for the purpose of sandbagging him with the secret videotape surveillance, as all of his testimony on direct examination was cumulative of the detailed answers he had previously supplied to Northwest. If yes, please describe the type of treatment and the frequency and duration of care you believe is indicated. Dr. Gold's initial determination was based entirely on Opeta's medical records supplied by both parties, as well as Dr. Gold's own personal examination. World Financial Planning Month: How to Plan for Retirement, Tips for Choosing a Business Bank Account Provider, 4 Reasons Why You Need a Business Bank Account. By its terms, the final decision as to eligibility is made not by Northwest, but by an independent mutually acceptable physician. Ms. DuVaney is a participant in the Contract Plan, a defined benefit plan for union members established by Northwest Airlines Corp. in 1970, covering all Am., 987 F.2d 1017, 1025 (4th Cir.1993) (en banc)) (emphasis added). Therefore, allowing the videotape into evidence was an abuse of discretion. The Plan itself contains no language suggesting that any dispute between a beneficiary and Northwest must be arbitrated. Some people prefer to withdraw the money in a lump sum and place it in a private retirement account they control, while others prefer the convenience of receiving reliable monthly payments. WebRetirement Plan Recordkeeping & Accounting | NWPS Who We Are We provide retirement plan recordkeeping, administration, actuarial, consulting, compliance and participant services to over 1,100 companies with 425,000 participants and $45 Click here to login, 2023, Portfolio Media, Inc. | About | Contact Us | Legal Jobs | Advertise with Law360 | Careers at Law360 | Terms | Privacy Policy | Cookie Settings | Help | Site Map, Enter your details below and select your area(s) of interest to stay ahead of the curve and receive Law360's daily newsletters, Email (NOTE: Free email domains not supported). The Plan - exNWA.com Conversely, Opeta claims that Dr. Gold unambiguously found that Opeta was both totally and permanently disabled. Answer: At this time, there is no type of work that Mr. Opeta could participate in as noted previously. Dr. Mealer, the orthopedic surgeon to whom Opeta had been referred by Northwest, and who performed Opeta's surgery, reported that Opeta was temporarily totally disabled, but nevertheless cleared him for work. Delta NORTHWEST AIRLINES PENSION PLAN FOR CONTRACT EMPLOYEES This SEC practice is designed to limit excessive automated searches on SEC.gov and is not intended or expected to impact individuals browsing the SEC.gov website. Check on Northwest flight status and make your reservations with Expedia. Breaking news and trends with an emphasis on banking and financial litigation and regulations providing new york attorneys and legal pros the insight to run their. Answer: With further time and back rehabilitation, there is a remote possibility that Mr. Opeta could return to some kind of employment and, as described above, this would be extremely sedentary. Please try again. Travel. Opeta subsequently filed an action in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, seeking an award of benefits under the Plan.1 The district court held a bench trial to determine, on de novo review, whether Opeta was totally and permanently disabled within the meaning of the Plan. You can also sign up for email updates on the SEC open data program, including best practices that make it more efficient to download data, and SEC.gov enhancements that may impact scripted downloading processes. The carrier continues to pay into a frozen defined-benefit plan for pilots at Northwest Airlines, which it acquired. Former northwest airlines workers sue delta over pensions. By using this site, you are agreeing to security monitoring and auditing. PLEASE NOTE: A verification email will be sent to your address before you can access your trial. In 2005, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. took over four United Airlines pension plans, incurring a $7.35 billion loss. WebFormer Northwest Airlines Workers Sue Delta Over Pensions By Emily Brill Law360 (December 14, 2021, 4:18 PM EST) -- Delta Air Lines Inc. has been hit with a proposed Anylaw is the free and friendly legal. In the legal profession, information is the key to success. The purpose of this approach is to ensure only employees who devote a substantial amount of time to the company actually receive a full pension. WebOn October 30, 1996, Ioane John Opeta, a Northwest employee, severely injured his back when he grabbed a falling 300-pound crate while loading cargo onto an aircraft. Co., 458 F.3d 955, 962 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc). Helpful Phone Numbers and Resources. Under the Plan's terms, an employee may receive a disability retirement pension if the participant's employment ends due to [his] total and permanent disability. The Plan defines total and permanent disability as a medically determinable physical or mental condition which renders you incapable of any employment with [Northwest]. The Plan provides that Northwest will determine whether the employee is totally and permanently disabled based on the employee's medical reports. Most airlines gave these to other airline employees. Opeta remained in constant pain that was exacerbated by long periods of sitting or standing. The videotape itself was never part of Dr. Gold's evaluation. 685 Third Avenue On October 30, 1996, Ioane John Opeta, a Northwest employee, severely injured his back when he grabbed a falling 300-pound crate while loading cargo onto an aircraft. Cf. Northwest retirees worried about their pensions endstream endobj startxref Vacation was skimpy to start, at 2 weeks paid, and after over 10 years climbed to 5 weeks. Co. of Am., 269 F.3d 974, 985 (9th Cir.2001); Friedrich, 181 F.3d at 1110-11. On February 5, 2002, Opeta applied for a disability retirement pension. For those in the public sector, pension plans that consist exclusively of employer contributions are much more common. Under Mongeluzo, that the district judge would feel much better if Dr. Gold testified and that he had never heard of a trial [without] witnesses is insufficient to warrant additional evidence. Id. 2hcKxRFArdO`W\d r^b |=D0!R$b0*tY*#I_hr4x. Retirement is a glorious time of life most people look forward to with excitement, especially if theyve planned well for those future golden years by tucking away a nice retirement fund to help them live comfortably. See 987 F.2d at 1027. Moreover, we found that the district court properly excluded additional evidence presented by the plan administrator, because detailed, written reports from the plan's experts already in the administrative record, made it unnecessary for the district court to hear additional testimony from [the defendant's] consultants. Id. According to the plain language of the Plan, Northwest no longer had discretion to interpret Dr. Gold's reports because the decision of the independent doctor was final and binding on both Northwest and Opeta. Because we conclude that none of the extrinsic evidence was necessary to conduct an adequate de novo review, we hold that the district court abused its discretion in admitting the evidence.2. Reference ID: 0.d5eb7068.1677985334.5e1f6bf. We hold that admitting the videotape and additional testimony was an abuse of discretion and that, based on the plain terms of the Plan and binding nature of Dr. Gold's pretrial opinion, the district court erred as a matter of law by awarding a judgment in Northwest's favor. Co., 175 F.3d 1084, 1090 (9th Cir.1999) (en banc) (quoting Bogue v. Ampex Corp., 976 F.2d 1319, 1325 (9th Cir.1992)). TermsPrivacyDisclaimerCookiesDo Not Sell My Information, Begin typing to search, use arrow keys to navigate, use enter to select, Stay up-to-date with FindLaw's newsletter for legal professionals. BudgetSmart.net is not an intermediary, broker/dealer, investment advisor, or exchange and does not provide investment advice or investment advisory services. Opeta, however, suggests that the Plan's language providing for an independent medical opinion, with respect to the determination of total and permanent disability, is in essence an agreement to arbitrate. The district court correctly ruled that the appropriate standard for review of the Plan's denial of benefits is de novo. Opeta disagreed with the denial of his application, and pursuant to the Plan, exercised his right to an IME. Delta Air Lines Accelerates Employee Pension Funding Multiemployer Pension Fund in the United States. The videotape depicted Opeta doing yard work for approximately two hours and thirty minutes in front of his house, including using an electric hedge trimmer to cut the bushes, a gas-powered weed trimmer to edge the lawn, and a lawn mower to cut the grass. 1002 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<6F2413FFF3E24CE0BB007FBB2A7E94FD>]/Index[991 34]/Info 990 0 R/Length 70/Prev 173380/Root 992 0 R/Size 1025/Type/XRef/W[1 2 1]>>stream We do not interpret the terms of the Plan to require Opeta to prove that there is absolutely no chance of any type of recovery. We disagree and focus instead on the crux of Opeta's argument, which is that the district court should have excluded new evidence and enforced Dr. Gold's final and binding determination according to the terms of the Plan. We cited with approval the rule of the Fourth Circuit that the district court should exercise its discretion to consider evidence outside of the administrative record only when circumstances clearly establish that additional evidence is necessary to conduct an adequate de novo review of the benefit decision. Id. Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors. ABCs OF RETIREMENT. All rights reserved. Dr. Gold's testimony was not necessary to understand or clarify his conclusions that were plainly stated in response to Northwest's follow-up questions. We have held that ERISA plans are insufficient to confer discretionary authority on the administrator when they do not grant any power to construe the terms of the plan. Abatie, 458 F.3d at 964. We deny this motion as moot. has provided valuable retirement benefits for members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and their families since 1960. Station manager salaries ($46k) glassdoor is your resource for. All participants in this plan are former employees of Northwest, spouses of former employees, or other beneficiaries, the complaint said. This determination will be final and binding on you and on the Employer. Both parties agree that Dr. Gold's determination was final and binding. The third-party sites are not under the control of BudgetSmart and BudgetSmart is not responsible for the content of any third-party site. A federal judge has denied dismissal of a lawsuit in which five former employees of delta air lines allege delta and its administrative committee improperly. Thank you for your interest in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Learn more about a Bloomberg Law Subscription. By the end of this month, Delta will have contributed $665 million to its traditional pension plans in the first four months of this year, in addition to $100 million that has been contributed to employees' defined contribution 401 (k) plans. SEC.gov | HOME Monthly Article. Vacation was The lump-sum option is also beneficial when employees want to pay off all their debt and move into retirement with no monthly expenses beyond simple living expenses. The Plan states that Total and Permanent Disability is a medically determinable physical or mental condition which renders you incapable of any employment with the Employer. Black's Law Dictionary defines permanent disability as [a] disability that will indefinitely prevent a worker from performing some or all of the duties that he or she could do before an accident. Black's Law Dictionary 474 (7th ed.1999). win back retirement benefits lost in airline bankruptcies Northwest Airlines Freezes Pension Plans September 9, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Northwest Airlines has frozen two pension plans that cover 41 North Texas congregations granted approval to leave the In 2010, Delta employees The lawsuit accused Delta and its fiduciaries of "using unreasonable conversion factors that are likely based on antiquated actuarial assumptions resulting in benefits that do not satisfy ERISA's actuarial equivalence requirements." Northwest gave free passes to employees. OPETA v. NORTHWEST AIRLINES PENSION PLAN FOR CONTRACT EMPLOYEES. However, in most cases, the vesting process usually takes several years of employment for an employee to reach a fully vested status that entitles them to the full amount of the funds when they retire. Additionally, the district court ordered the videographer to testify as to what he observed while conducting the video surveillance of Opeta. He said there are many others like him, and that they're fighting to get back what they believe is rightly theirs. The downside to the latter is the total annual pension amount paid is lower usually by about 10% and the spouse could pass away before the retired employee. Delta Air Lines Must Face Lawsuit Over Pension Payments However, Northwest asserts that Dr. Gold found Opeta to be totally, but not permanently disabled. at 944 (quoting Quesinberry v. Life Ins. A federal judge has denied dismissal of a lawsuit in which five former employees of Delta Air Lines allege Delta and its administrative committee improperly These offers do not represent all offers that may be available to you. Photo Illustration: Jonathan Hurtarte/Bloomberg Law; Photos: Getty Images, Retiree monthly pensions reduced by up to $314, Judge looks to Social Security Administration practices. In Mongeluzo v. Baxter Travenol Long Term Disability Benefit Plan, we resolved the question of the scope of review that a district court may employ upon de novo review of a plan administrator's decision. The basic calculation for determining the amount of an annual pension usually includes adding a set percent for each year the employee worked for the company and multiplying the total percentage by the average salary of the employee for the final five years of service. Get Important Information Before You Start Your Pension Application! has provided valuable retirement benefits for members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and their families since 1960. The IAM National Pension Fund provides participants with a defined-benefit pension plan for their retirement. ( filing fee $ 210, receipt number. On November 4, 2002, Dr. Gold examined Opeta and determined that Opeta was temporarily totally disabled and unable to work in any capacity. Dr. Gold reported that while there was a possibility that [Opeta] could be a candidate for extreme sedentary work, it was very unlikely.. Its very expensive and not a log of choices. Opeta misguidedly contends that the Plan contains an arbitration agreement which the district court should have enforced. Glassdoor is your resource for information about the Pension Plan benefits at Northwest Airlines. That agreement is part of Deltas existing $5 billion share repurchase Note that this policy may change as the SEC manages SEC.gov to ensure that the website performs efficiently and remains available to all users. Due to aggressive automated scraping of FederalRegister.gov and eCFR.gov, programmatic access to these sites is limited to access to our extensive developer APIs. AskMoney is part of the Ask family of brands. Copyright 20082023, Glassdoor, Inc. "Glassdoor" and logo are registered trademarks of Glassdoor, Inc. Former Reservations Agent in Minneapolis, MN, Minnesota, Current Agent in Koreatown, Los Angeles, California, Former Reservation Sales Agent in Minneapolis, MN, Minnesota, Former Customer Service Supervisor in Minneapolis, MN, Minnesota, Learn How to State Your Case and Earn Your Raise, Climb the Ladder With These Proven Promotion Tips. Question 4: Is there any type of work that John Opeta could do? Therefore, because the Plan did not unambiguously confer discretion on Northwest to interpret the terms of the Plan and determine eligibility benefits, the district court correctly determined that it should apply a de novo standard of review. At FindLaw.com, we pride ourselves on being the number one source of free legal information and resources on the web. Historically, pension plans first became popular in World War II, and they have remained key benefit components for government employees and unionized workers since that time, although some private companies also have pension plans. 68 FR 49792 - Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Salaried Employees (Salaried Plan), the Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Pilot Employees (Pilot Plan), and the Northwest Airlines Pension Plan for Contract Employees (Contract Plan) (Collectively, the Plans), Question 3: On what date was John Opeta both totally & permanently disabled from all employment (including light or sedentary work without regard to level of pay)? Northwest Airlines: Good health insurance, there Was a pension but that was terminated in the last year before the merger with Delta Airlines, Great travel benefit. Thank you. We review the district court's decision to admit or exclude evidence that was not before the plan administrator for an abuse of discretion. WebCompany profile page for Northwest Airlines Pension Plan For Contract Employees including stock price, company news, press releases, executives, board members, and
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