Myla Nauman v. Abbott Laboratories

SYKES, Circuit Judge.

Abbott Laboratories decided to “spin” its Hospital Products Division (“HPD”), creating a separate company called Hospira. Prior to the spin, HPD employees had access to Abbott’s pension plan. After the spin, however, HPD employees became employees of Hospira, which did not offer a pension plan but instead offered an enhanced 401(k) plan with an employer-matching provision. The terms of the spin included reciprocal no-hire policies, meaning that for two years post-spin, Abbott would not hire Hospira employees or retirees, and Hospira would-not hire Abbott employees or…