This year has seen many significant developments affecting the intersection of labor and employment issues and bankruptcy. The Labor and Employment Committee endeavors to remain at the forefront of this highly specialized and complex subset of bankruptcy laws in an effort to keep its members well-informed as they navigate these issues.
Labor and employment issues have been at the heart of health care insolvencies and restructuring. Accordingly, our committee paired up with ABI’s Health Care Committee in organizing and sponsoring an all-star panel at this year's Annual Spring Meeting, moderated by Nancy A. Peterman of Greenburg Traurig, LLP, titled “Hemorrhaging Hospitals: Labor Issues in the Health Care Insolvency E.R.” The panel consisted of Scott B. Davis of Grant Thornton LLP, David M. Fusco of Schwarzwald McNair & Fusco LLP, and Sharon L. Levine of Lowenstein Sandler LLP. The panel examined the unique leverage that labor unions can exert over a reorganization by virtue of the large claim that they often hold, in addition to the statutory protections afforded by the Bankruptcy Code and the National Labor Relations Act.
Our committee also assembled an all-star panel for the 2015 Winter Leadership Conference, titled “Distress and Labor in the Courtroom: Pensions and CBA Rejections.” The panel consisted of Frank A. Anderson of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., John C. Goodchild of Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Jordan A. Kroop of Perkins Coie LLP and Kenneth Pasquale of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. The panel discussed the legal standards governing the ability of distressed companies to shed legacy liabilities, the role of the PBGC prior to and in the midst of financial distress, and current trends and practice pointers related to these issues.
The Labor and Employment Committee published original materials in its quarterly newsletter, with topics dealing with the pros and cons of union participation on creditors’ committees, and the impact of the expiration of CBAs upon the jurisdiction of bankruptcy courts and the ability to reject such agreements.
In early February 2015, the committee presented a webinar titled, “Pension Tension: Dealing with Plans in the Restructuring World.” The lecturers on the panel were David R. Seligman and Gregory F. Pesce with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, James J. Mazza Jr. of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and Craig T. Fessenden and Theresa Anderson with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. The lecturers discussed and analyzed whether private-equity sponsors may be subject to pension fund withdrawal liability under ERISA in light of recent circuit level decisions, whether pension plan withdrawal liability is entitled to administrative claim priority, and the status of the PBGC’s moratorium on certain enforcement actions. For those who were not able to attend the live broadcast, an audio recording of this webinar is available at ABI’s e-Learning Page.
Looking forward to 2016, the committee will be presenting a panel at the 2016 Annual Spring Meeting titled “Labor Issues in 363 Sales: Things You Need to Know,” as well as a webinar in early spring on labor issues in coal industry restructurings.
The leadership of the Labor and Employment Committee encourages you to provide ideas and suggestions for topics or recent decisions that you would like the committee to cover in future educational sessions or in newsletter articles. One way for members to do so is by sharing their thoughts on our listserve or by contacting our listserve facilitator, Charles Malloy. Alternatively, ABI members should feel free to contact either our education director, Michael D. Fielding, or our special projects/task force leader, David R. Seligman. We are always seeking original written materials for our quarterly newsletter. Any ABI member who is interested in publishing a short article on a topic of interest should contact our newsletter editor, Jason Teele.
As co-chairs of the Labor & Employment Committee, we offer our appreciation to our committee leadership for their hard work and dedication, to the individuals who contributed to the articles and educational programs sponsored by the committee, and to our members, and we look forward to another great year.