XEROX LOSES ON PENSION APPEAL,TO PAY $35M

[Anonymous]

Xerox loses on pension appeal
At least $35M likely owed to plaintiffs
(April  2006) – An appeals court has denied a request from Xerox Corp. that it rehear a pension case against the company.
The Second Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City ruled that Xerox did not properly inform workers who left the company and were later rehired about a change in their pensions, costing them years of service toward retirement.
The court’s denial of Xerox’s motion means the case can likely move toward paying those workers, said Springfield, N.J., attorney Robert A. Jaffe, who represented the more than 100 plaintiffs in the case.
“I don’t see why this should take all that long,” he said Wednesday.
There will be a conference call today with the judge to discuss the next moves in the case, Jaffe said.
Jaffe said he expects his clients are owed between $35 million and $50 million.
The policy in question discounted pensions earned during a worker’s second tenure by the value of their original pension, plus interest. The action violated the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to the court’s January ruling.
Xerox continues “to explore our options,” spokesman Bill McKee said. “However, as this is still pending litigation, we are unable to comment.”
Jaffe said as many as 1,500 employees may be eligible for some compensation, but it will be up to the court to determine how broad the scope of payments should be. 

[Author]

April 14, 2006 at 11:26 AM