A union tried to foreclose on a general contractor's bond to recover unpaid employee benefit contributions owed by a subcontractor. The Washington Supreme Court ruled that federal ERISA law preempts (overrides) Washington's state lien laws in this situation. This means unions cannot use state lien foreclosure procedures to collect unpaid fringe benefits—they must follow federal ERISA rules instead. Subcontractors need to understand that benefit contribution disputes follow different rules than regular payment disputes.
Union benefit claims are governed by federal ERISA law, not state lien statutes—state lien procedures won't work for collecting unpaid fringe benefits
General contractor bonds cannot be foreclosed under state law to satisfy unpaid employee benefit contributions owed by subcontractors
If you're a subcontractor owing union benefits, expect the union to pursue federal remedies rather than state lien claims against your GC's bond