MGMT 582
4/2/2012
Section 510 of ERISA Gives False Hope of Non Retaliation by Employers The Scenario is this; an Employee of one of the biggest hotel chains in the United States works in the Benefits section of the company. She finds a major flaw in the company’s benefits plan and brings it to the attention of Management. She was terminated and brought up a wrongful termination suit against Marriott. The Courts upheld the termination saying that Section 510 of ERISA did not protect the employee. This article argues that the employee should be protected when reporting internal violations voluntarily for three reasons. “(1) The protection of unsolicited internal complaints is consistent with congressional intent, (2) The text of section 510, as compared to other anti-retaliation provisions in other federal statutes, supports protection of unsolicited internal complaints, and (3) Section 510 reflects the view of the Secretary of Labor, whose interpretative position is coherent and attractive as a policy matter.”(PETERSON 1). The first reason is “the protection of unsolicited internal complaints is consistent with congressional intent.” Even though the Supreme Court upheld the judgment in this case, the article is arguing the side of congressional intent. If someone comes to their employer, who works in a position of power when it comes to employee benefits, to tell them that they are in a state of illegality they should be protected by section 510 of ERISA. The way that section 510 is written states that the “whistleblower” should be protected from any adverse actions when it comes to employment discrimination. “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, or discriminate against any person because he has given information or has testified or is about to testify in any inquiry or proceeding relating to [ERISA] or the Welfare and