“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
–George Santayana
This quote came to mind recently while I read Supreme Power by Jeff Shesol. This fascinating book recounts the legal standoff between Franklin Roosevelt and the Supreme Court over the constitutionality of FDR’s “New Deal” legislation. In a key decision, the Supreme Court struck down the Railroad Retirement Act as unconstitutional on May 6, 1935. The author’s explanation of this decision (Railroad Retirement Board v. Alton) initially peaked my interest because it involved pension legislation that, similar to ERISA, was intended to safeguard pensioners in dying industries. The laws mandated employer and employee contributions to pensions for retirees of failing railroads. But the interesting parallels to current legal issues did not end there. The name of the Supreme Court Justice who wrote the 1935 opinion was Roberts (although the 1935 Justice was named Owen Roberts, not John Roberts). Even more striking, the 1935 opinion discussed not only employer‑provided pensions but also employer‑provided medical benefits. Justice Roberts opined that the federal government could not force the railroads to provide pensions because this was not within the federal powers to regulate interstate commerce. As the book explains, Justice Roberts reasoned that if Congress could mandate employer‑provided pensions, then “there was no limit to the field of so-called regulation”: Congress could order employers to provide employees “a hundred other matters” including, “say, free medical care for employees.” (Emphasis added, Supreme Power, page 118.)
As this illustrates, current legal controversies surrounding employer‑provided pension and medical benefits have occurred in the past. And they will undoubtedly continue into the future (perhaps even with other Justices named Roberts).
marybrauerlaw 