JOHNSON v. COLVIN POST OFFICE

**Johnson v. Colvin Post Office: Court Rules Workers Must Use Arbitration for Retirement Plan Disputes** This case involved workers at ICSO Industries who sued their employer over problems with their employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) - a type of retirement benefit where employees own shares in the company. The workers claimed the company violated federal laws that protect employee retirement plans and broke their employment contracts. The court dismissed the case and ordered the workers to resolve their dispute through arbitration instead of going to court. The judge found that the workers had signed employment contracts that included arbitration agreements, which required them to settle workplace disputes privately with an arbitrator rather than in court. The court determined that complaints about the retirement plan fell under these arbitration requirements. **What this means for workers:** If your employment contract includes an arbitration clause, you may be required to handle disputes about your retirement benefits through arbitration rather than filing a lawsuit. This can limit your options for resolving workplace problems, including issues with company-sponsored retirement plans. Workers should carefully review their employment agreements to understand what types of disputes must go through arbitration versus the court system.