Workers Can Sue To Regain Benefits

Adding new teeth to the federal law that protects employee pensions and other job-related benefits, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that workers whose employers trick them into giving up their benefits can sue to have the coverage restored.

The 6-3 decision resolved a recurring question under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974: Whether employees can sue on their own behalf, as the court held Tuesday, or whether lawsuits can be brought only on behalf of the benefit plan itself.