Overview
On March 21, 2017, the Honorable John C. Coughenour of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, granted final approval of a landmark $351 million settlement, ending this class action brought on behalf of 73,000 employees at Providence Health Services.
Plaintiffs alleged that the non-profit healthcare conglomerate and its subsidiaries improperly claimed that the Providence Health & Services Cash Balance Retirement Plan qualified as a “Church Plan” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
Plaintiffs further alleged that by improperly operating its plan as a “Church Plan,” Providence Health Services did not comply with the many protections afforded to pension beneficiaries under ERISA. In addition to financial restitution, the lawsuit sought to compel the Providence Plan to fully comply with ERISA.
The claims brought against Providence Health Services mirror those in Dignity Health v. Rollins, 830 F.3d 900 (9th Cir. 2016), involving another non-profit hospital retirement plan, which was consolidated with two other “Church Plan”/ERISA exemption class actions before the Supreme Court of the United States. Cohen Milstein was counsel in all three of these cases.
Case Background
Originally filed on November 7, 2014 by a group of nurses who represented 73,000 employees at Providence Health Services, plaintiffs alleged that Providence Health Services violated numerous provisions of ERISA, while claiming that the Providence Plan was exempt from ERISA’s protections because it was a “Church Plan.” Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that the Providence Plan was not a “Church Plan” because Providence was not a church or a convention or association of churches, and because the Providence Plan was not established by a church or a convention or association of churches. Plaintiffs further alleged that Providence Health Services and the plan fiduciaries breached their duties under ERISA by, among other things:
- Underfunding the Providence Plan;
- Failing to furnish Plaintiffs or any members of the class with a Summary Plan Description, Summary Annual Reports, Notification of Failure to Meet Minimum Funding, or Funding Notices, Pension Benefit Statements; and
- Failing to file an annual report with respect to the Providence Plan with the Secretary of Labor.
Class Action Allegations
This lawsuit was brought on behalf of the following persons:
All participants and beneficiaries of the Providence Health & Services Cash Balance Retirement Plan, also known as the Core Plan.
Excluded from the Class were any high-level executives at Providence Health Services or any employees who had responsibility or involvement in the administration of the Providence Plan, or who were subsequently determined to be fiduciaries of the Plan.
Case name: Griffith, et al. v. Providence Health & Services, et al., Case No. 2:14-cv-01720-JCC, United States District Court for the Western District of Washington.