EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY ACT
The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of
1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C.A. § 1001 et seq. (1974),
is a federal law that sets minimum standards for
most voluntarily established PENSION and health
plans in private industry to provide protection
for individuals enrolled in these plans. ERISA
regulates the financing, vesting, and administra-
tion of pension plans for workers in private
business and industry. The 1974 enactment of
ERISA by Congress was intended to preserve
and protect the rights of employees to their pen-
sions upon retirement by establishing statutory
requirements that govern such matters.
ERISA requires retirement plans to provide
participants with information including impor-
tant details about plan features and funding.
ERISA also describes fiduciary responsibilities
for those who manage and control plan assets,
requires plans to establish a grievance and
appeals process for participants seeking benefits
from their plans, and gives participants the right
to sue for benefits and breaches of fiduciary
duty. A number of amendments to ERISA
expand the protections that are available to
health-benefit-plan participants and beneficiar-
ies. One important amendment, the Consoli-
dated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
(COBRA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1161–1168 (1994), pro-
vides some workers and their families with the
right to continue their health coverage for a lim-
ited time after certain life events, such as the loss
of a job. Another amendment to ERISA, the
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act (HIPAA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 1181–1182, provides
important new protection for working Ameri-
cans and their families who have preexisting
medical conditions or who might otherwise suf-
fer discrimination in health coverage based on
factors related to health. Other important
amendments include the Newborns’ and Moth-
ers’ Health Protection Act, the Mental Health
Parity Act, and the Women’s Health and Cancer
Rights Act. In general, ERISA does not cover
group health plans established or maintained by
government entities, churches, or plans that are
maintained solely to comply with applicable
workers compensation, unemployment, or dis-
ability laws. ERISA also does not cover plans
maintained outside the United States primarily
for the benefit of non-resident ALIENS or
unfunded excess benefit plans.
CROSS-REFERENCES
Employment Law.
EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY ACTS
State and federal laws that define or restrict the
grounds under which, and the extent to which,
the owner of a business who hires workers can be
held liable for damages arising from injuries to
such workers that occur during the course of the
work.
Statutes such as the Federal Employers’ Lia-
bility Act (10 U.S.C.A. § 51 et seq. [1908]) and
126 EMOLUMENT
WEST’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 2nd EditionWORKERS’ COMPENSATION laws abrogate the
principle of COMMON LAW that an employer is
not liable to employees who have been injured
by the fault or NEGLIGENCE of a fellow worker
