Microchip Forces Trial in Atmel Workers’ Severance Benefits Suit

A lawsuit accusing Microchip Technology Inc. of improperly denying severance benefits to nine laid-off Atmel Corp. workers is headed to trial after a California federal judge reconsidered the dispute following guidance from the Ninth Circuit.

The parties raised a factual dispute over whether the Atmel severance plan allows benefits to be paid following a corporate acquisition by one company that’s preceded by negotiations with a different company, Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr. of the US District Court for the Northern District of California ruled July 29. Microchip’s evidence—though “not overwhelming"—is sufficient to contradict the workers’ interpretation of the plan, Gilliam ...