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Manuel Mora, on His Own Behalf and on Behalf of All Persons Similarly Situated v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust for Southern California

9th CircuitJanuary 25, 2006No. 04-55594Cited 3 times
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Case Details

Judge(s)
Pregerson, Noonan, Thomas
Status — whether other courts must follow this ruling
Published
Procedural Posture — the stage the case had reached
summary judgment

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Claim Types

Breach of Contract

Outcome

The court affirmed summary judgment for the Pension Trust, holding that ERISA regulations do not require contributions to the Vacation Trust to count as hours of service toward pension benefits, as those contributions were made for hours already worked and counted, and the Vacation Trust was established as a savings vehicle, not vacation time payment.

What This Ruling Means

# Court Ruling Summary: Mora v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust ## What Happened Manuel Mora and other construction workers sued their pension fund, claiming that vacation contributions should count toward their pension benefits. The workers argued that money paid into a vacation savings account should qualify as "hours of service" when calculating their pensions. ## What the Court Decided The court sided with the Pension Trust. It ruled that vacation contributions do not count toward pension benefits because the money was paid for hours workers had already completed and counted. The court found that the vacation fund was simply a savings tool, not a substitute for actual work hours. ## Why This Matters This ruling clarifies how pension benefits are calculated for construction workers. It establishes that employers cannot combine different types of pay (like vacation funds) to artificially increase pension credits. Workers' pensions are based on actual hours worked, not supplemental savings accounts. Those using pension plans should understand exactly which contributions count toward their final benefits.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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