NEW YORK (AFX) - Plaintiffs expect to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a high-profile case that had exonerated International Business Machine Corp.'s cash-balance pension plan.
On Sept. 1, a federal appeals court in Chicago refused to reconsider the case. The court denied a petition 'en banc,' which had asked all 11 active judges on the bench to review the opinion.
Three of the appellate court judges had ruled earlier in August that the IBM plan does not discriminate against older workers.
Tuesday, IBM said it is gratified by the appeals court decision not to grant en banc. 'The court's refusal to reconsider the decision of Aug. 7 further underscores IBM's position that its pension plan formula is both lawful and age-neutral, and that neither IBM's plan or cash balance plans in general discriminate on the basis of age,' IBM said.
In its decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago reversed a lower court decision that said IBM's cash-balance pension discriminated against older workers. The case has been closely watched because a number of companies had been concerned about the legality of their plans. As of 2003, about 1,200 companies in the U.S. offered hybrid pensions covering about 7 million workers.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.