In a decision that highlights the need for caution and foresight when drafting provisions of a collective bargaining agreement, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled this week that an employer violated federal labor law when it stopped providing premium-free health insurance coverage to its retirees between the ages of 55 and 65, even though the company first bargained for and obtained language in a new collective bargaining agreement that expressly allowed the company to begin requiring retirees to pay a portion of the cost for their health insurance coverage.  In Alday v. Raytheon Co., Case Nos. 08-16984 and 08-16985 (9th Cir. 2010) (pdf), the company had agreed in successive labor agreements entered into from 1990 through 1999 to provide premium-free health insurance coverage to qualified retirees and their spouses and dependents “until [the retiree] attained the age of 65 years.”  In 2003, the company bargained for new language in its collective bargaining agreement, specifying that the company could require retirees to pay a portion of their health insurance premium costs.  In 2004, the company began charging covered retirees a portion of the health insurance premium associated with their coverage.  Continue reading about the results in this case at Littler's new Labor Relations Counsel Blog.