1,177 employees set to receive US$232.7 million from pension case settlement
A pension dispute that stretched back decades will cost Colgate-Palmolive $332m after the company agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit, Reuters reported.
The preliminary agreement, filed Friday night in Manhattan federal court, covers 1,177 employees and is subject to judicial approval.
After lawyers’ fees and expenses, employees are expected to receive about US$232.7m.
The litigation stems from 1989, when Colgate converted its pension plan to a cash balance plan, giving participants the option of lump-sum benefits.
In 2005, the company amended the plan to retroactively grant annuity payments to participants who had taken lump sums but had not received the full value of their benefits.
Plaintiffs argued that errors were made in calculating those payments.
Legal challenges over Colgate’s pension practices began in 2007, with the latest lawsuit filed in 2016.
The company denied wrongdoing, stating it settled to avoid the risk and expense of continued litigation. Colgate had already set aside funds for the settlement in the first quarters of 2023 and 2025.
Colgate, whose brands include Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Irish Spring, Speed Stick, Lady Speed Stick, and Tom’s of Maine, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case is McCutcheon et al v. Colgate-Palmolive Co et al, US District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-04170.
