Golen v. Chamberlain Manufacturing Corp

In Golen v. Chamberlain Manufacturing Corp., 139 Ill. App. 3d 53, 55, 487 N.E.2d 121, 124, 93 Ill. Dec. 677 (1985), the plaintiff claimed that the defendant was contractually obligated to pay pension benefits. The plaintiff alleged that during his job interview, the president of the defendant lured him to leave his then-current job by offering credit toward the defendant's pension plan for the eight-plus years of service he had rendered at that job. The plaintiff accepted the offer. The plaintiff worked for the defendant for 8 1/2 years, but the pension plan did not vest until the tenth year. The plaintiff sought a declaratory judgment that the defendant was obligated to pay pension benefits with the addition of his term of employment from his previous employer. The defendant claimed federal preemption. Golen, 139 Ill. App. 3d at 57, 487 N.E.2d at 124-25. Golen noted that although a state law which directly regulates the content of ERISA is preempted, there is no preemption if the state law only tangentially impacts the ERISA plan. Golen concluded as follows: "In the instant case, the essence of plaintiffs claim is that the defendant is liable for breach of an employment contract for pension credits. Plaintiffs claim does not concern the substance of the plan, nor does it concern the regulation of a pension plan. Although the trial court's determination of damages required some consideration of the terms of the plan, the pension plan is only tangentially or incidentally involved. We find that plaintiffs claim is not governed by ERISA and that the trial court properly considered the merits of the claim." Golen, 139 Ill. App. 3d at 58, 487 N.E.2d at 125. In Golen, after starting his employment with the defendant, the plaintiff sent two letters reminding the defendant's president of the offer of pension credits. The president signed and returned the letters. Golen found that the trial court had properly entered a summary judgment for the plaintiff because there was no genuine issue of material fact regarding the offer of pension credits.