Getting Something for Nothing: Are Employee Benefits an Entitlement or a Gratuity?

During the 1997-98 term, the Fifth Circuit’s employment law cases focuses on the question of whether employee benefits are an entitlement that vests and not subject to divestment. Cases included fights over benefits such as severances, lifetime medical benefits, and disability payments. The Court also elucidated the proper standard of review for benefit denial cases and addressed issues involving collateral estoppel and inadequate support for summary judgments.