Utility workers in California have sued their employer, the Southern California Gas Company, arguing that changes it made to its pension fund in 1998 violated federal and state laws against age discrimination. The lawsuit contends that the changes to the plan that made the alleged discrimination apparent did not come into effect until 2003. The lawsuit comes at a time when conversions of traditional pension plans to a more recent type are in a state of legal limbo.
See "California Utility Workers Claim Bias in Pension Changes", Mary Williams Walsh, The New York Times, July 10, 2005