"High court ruling reels in 6th Circuit precedent favoring vesting of retiree benefits"

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In late January the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a case addressing the principles that should apply in deciding whether retiree welfare benefits in a collective bargaining agreement vest so that they survive expiration of the agreement.

The circuits had been split on the issue. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in particular, essentially created an inference in favor of finding such benefits vested, even if a CBA was silent as to the duration of the benefits. UAW v. Yard-Man Inc., 716 F.2d 1476, 1479 (6th Cir. 1983), and its progeny.