Pension Law’s Construction Exception Includes Asbestos Work

Walker Specialty Construction Inc. defeated a pension fund’s appeal seeking more than $2.8 million, when the Ninth Circuit said the company’s asbestos abatement work allowed it to qualify for a statutory exemption from liability.

Asbestos abatement—which involves the removal or suppression of asbestos-containing materials from buildings and structures—qualifies as “building and construction” work under a provision of federal pension law allowing employers in the building and construction industry to avoid certain pension obligations, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled Monday.

The federal Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act incorporates the established definition of “building and construction industry” ...