The class has been certified in an action filed against defense contractor Raytheon Company and related companies on behalf of all former employees of Raytheon Engineers and Constructors, Inc. who were involuntarily terminated as a result of the sale of Raytheon Engineers to Morrison Knudsen Corporation, which was succeeded by Washington Group. The action alleges that Raytheon Engineers violated the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by failing to grant severance pay and other benefits to employees under the ERISA-governed severance policy in connection with the stock sale to Morrison Knudsen. The action seeks compensatory damages equal to the employees' unpaid accrued severance pay and vacation pay.

In mid-April 2000, Raytheon signed an agreement for the sale of the stock of Raytheon Engineers and Constructors, Inc. to Morrison Knudsen. During the next few months, Raytheon Engineers employees were informed of the impending closing of the sale through meetings, informational Question and Answer releases and information posted on Morrison Knudsen's website. Among the information revealed during this period was the fact that, after the closing, Raytheon Engineers would be reorganized from eight divisions to five, with much of the management of Raytheon Engineers' old divisions being replaced. The sale closed on July 7, 2000, and is alleged to have had a major consequence: allegedly, this sale amounted to an involuntary termination of all Raytheon Engineers employees, entitling them to severance pay under the Raytheon Engineers Severance Pay Policy.

In the period leading up to, and possibly following, the stock sale of Raytheon Engineers, the company maintained several benefit programs for its employees. One such plan was the Raytheon Engineers Termination of Employment Policy, which sets out fair and uniform standards for the termination of employees. The Termination Policy defines several types of voluntary and involuntary termination of employment, including layoff and reorganization, the two types of involuntary terminations relevant to this case. It also establishes payroll practices at the termination of employment, authorizing severance pay for terminations of full-time employees classified as layoff, release or reorganization.

The court ruled that class members may be entitled to recover under the argument that the sale of Raytheon Engineers constituted an involuntary termination of employment on the date the sale became final--they ceased to be employed by Raytheon Engineers and become employees of Washington Group, with the consequence that their benefits were reduced drastically.