A recent case before the Fifth Circuit Court of
Appeals
1 determined that a Project Completion
Incentive applying to employees on a construction project
(the Plan ) was not governed by the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 ( ERISA ).
2
Former laborer Employees of the construction manager Employer
filed a lawsuit in Louisiana State Court asserting that the
Employer was required to pay them the Project Completion
Incentive under the Plan for the time spent on the
project-despite conceding that they quit the project before
completion and were therefore not eligible for the incentive under
the Plan terms.
3 The Employees asserted that the