W.G. Clark Construction Co. v. Pacific Northwest Regional Council of Carpenters

¶1 The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a set of federal laws that regulates pension and welfare plans. 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001-1461. To provide national uniformity in plan administration, ERISA preempts most state laws that “relate to” employee benefit plans. 29 U.S.C. § 1144(a). At issue in this case is whether ERISA preempts claims made under two Washington state laws designed to ensure that workers on public projects are paid for their work: chapters 39.08 and 60.28 RCW. When we previously addressed this issue in 1994 and 2000, we held that ERISA preempted such claims.…