21 Employee Benefits Cas. 2249, Pens. Plan Guide (Cch) P 23940b

**What Happened** Employees of North American Rayon Corporation sued their employer over how the company handled voting rights for stock in their employee benefit plan. The workers claimed their employer violated its legal duty to properly manage their retirement benefits by mishandling these stock voting rights. **What the Court Decided** The Court of Appeals ruled against the employees and dismissed their case. The court found that stock voting rights are not considered "plan assets" under ERISA, the federal law that protects employee benefits. Because voting rights aren't plan assets, the court said the employer didn't breach its legal duty to the employees when handling these voting decisions. **Why This Matters for Workers** This ruling limits workers' ability to challenge how their employers vote stock shares held in employee benefit plans. Workers cannot sue their employers under ERISA for mishandling stock voting rights, even if they believe the voting decisions harm their financial interests. This means employees have less control over corporate decisions that might affect the value of their retirement benefits when those benefits include company stock or stock funds.