Seventh Circuit Holds Withdrawal Liability Cannot Be Based On Extra-Contractual Contributions

In Bulk Transp. v. Teamsters Union No. 142 Pension Fund, No. 23-1563, 2024 WL 1230236 (7th Cir. Mar. 22, 2024), the Seventh Circuit held that the contributions used to calculate an employer's withdrawal liability may include only the contributions the employer was required to remit pursuant to the terms of the parties' collective bargaining agreement ("CBA"). The employer remitted two sets of contributions to the plan: (i) for steel mill work pursuant to the terms of the CBA, and (ii) for hauling work that was not covered by the terms of the CBA, but that the employer nevertheless remitted to the plan to head off labor strife. After the hauling work ended, the plan assessed the employer withdrawal liability. The employer disputed the calculation, arguing that the contributions associated with the hauling work should not have been included in the calculation because those contributions were not required by the CBA or any other written agreement. The arbitrator and the