Benefits

  • February 18, 2025

    Wells Fargo Fights Class Cert. Bid In 'Sham' Hiring Case

    Wells Fargo & Co. is seeking to avoid class claims in a lawsuit accusing it of deceiving investors about its hiring practices, arguing that suing shareholders have not shown how a downturn in the bank's stock price was caused by the supposedly "sham" job interviews rather than a challenging interest rate environment.

  • February 18, 2025

    ER Says 3rd Parties Allow For Accurate Blame In Injury Suit

    A Texas emergency room told state high court justices Tuesday that refusing to allow it to designate responsible third parties in a nurse's injury suit would create " a dramatic upheaval" by " not letting us blame who's really at fault" for the woman's back injury.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Trans Order Is Unconstitutional 'End-Run,' Judge Says

    A Washington federal judge has further explained her temporary block on President Donald Trump's executive order targeting funding for gender-affirming care for young people, saying the edict threatens a broad swath of congressionally approved research spending and "amounts to an end-run around the separation of powers."

  • February 18, 2025

    Steward Says Mass. Owes $22M For Withheld Patient Claims

    Steward Health Care has sued Massachusetts in Texas bankruptcy court to recover $22 million, which the insolvent hospital operator alleged it is owed for treating low-income patients in Massachusetts after the company filed for Chapter 11 relief.

  • February 18, 2025

    Vanguard Investors Object To $40M Settlement Proposal

    A handful of the investors claiming Vanguard breached its fiduciary duty when it triggered an asset sell-off that stuck them with big tax bills objected to a proposed $40 million settlement, with some saying attorneys in the underlying class action could get too much money for making the deal.

  • February 18, 2025

    Chancery Tosses Class Suit Challenging Trade Desk CEO Pay

    Stockholders who sued to block an up to $5.2 billion, multiyear chairman's compensation package for global digital marketing venture The Trade Desk failed to show a required inference of director liability or bad faith, a Delaware vice chancellor has ruled.

  • February 18, 2025

    Boston Children's Hospital Settles Retirement Plan Fee Suit

    Boston Children's Hospital has settled a suit with a proposed class of participants in its $1.1 billion retirement plan who alleged the hospital allowed excessive fees.

  • February 14, 2025

    Loper Bright Doesn't Sink ESG Rule, Texas Judge Says

    A Texas federal judge again upheld a Biden-era rule allowing retirement fiduciaries to consider issues like climate change and social justice when choosing investments, ruling that the rule was still valid despite the U.S. Supreme Court doing away with a decades-long approach to interpreting statutes.

  • February 14, 2025

    Bed Bath & Beyond To Pay $1.95M To 2,100 For ERISA Class

    Bed Bath & Beyond will pay $1.95 million to settle a proposed class action by 2,100 employees who claimed its 401(k) committee mismanaged their retirement savings plan amid growing financial problems before terminating it altogether after filing for bankruptcy, according to a preliminary approval motion Friday in New Jersey federal court.

  • February 14, 2025

    4th Circ. To Hear Deloitte Appeal Of SCANA Class Cert. Ruling

    The Fourth Circuit has agreed to hear a case that could overturn the class status of SCANA Corp. investors accusing Deloitte of issuing misleading audit reports about the progress being made on a failed $9 billion nuclear energy project, saying it would hear arguments over whether a U.S. Supreme Court model on damages was properly applied to the class certification order.

  • February 14, 2025

    FTC's Ferguson, PBMs Agree: Nix Leader Removal Safeguards

    Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson offered his own support for enabling the president to readily fire independent agency commissioners at the FTC and beyond, a day after pharmacy benefit managers cited the new U.S. Department of Justice policy in their own battle with the FTC.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Aims To End Limits On President's Power To Fire

    President Donald Trump has his sights set on taking down a 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects certain government officials from being fired, a U.S. Department of Justice letter confirms, and he plans to leverage his prior legal victories to deliver the precedent's death knell and expand presidential power.

  • February 14, 2025

    Drug Costs, State Laws Fuel Push For Fed. Action On PBMs 

    Skyrocketing prescription drug costs and a proliferation of state laws are driving renewed calls from employers and benefit plan administrators for Congress to enact federal legislation changing how pharmacy benefit managers do business, experts say.

  • February 14, 2025

    Judge Rejects NLRB Bid To Reopen Post-Gazette Union Talks

    The publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will not be forced to return to bargaining with several unions representing its striking print production employees, after a federal judge ruled that the National Labor Relations Board had not convinced her that the publisher had bargained in bad faith.

  • February 14, 2025

    Defunct Media Co. Agrees To Resolve WARN Act Class Action

    Former digital media startup The Messenger has struck a deal to end a class action alleging it failed to give hundreds of workers enough notice about its impending layoffs and shutdown, the company told a New York federal court.

  • February 14, 2025

    2nd Judge Blocks Trump Trans Health Order, Chides DOJ Atty

    A Washington federal judge put a second temporary block on President Donald Trump's executive order targeting funding for gender-affirming care for people younger than 19, at a Seattle hearing where the judge said she was extremely frustrated with a federal government attorney's inability to answer questions about the order's discriminatory impact on transgender youth.

  • February 14, 2025

    Trump Illegally Fired FLRA Chair, Suit Says

    The former chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority is the latest government official to sue President Donald Trump, saying in a complaint filed in D.C. federal court that she was fired illegally.

  • February 14, 2025

    DOJ Takes Military Bias Dispute With Nev. To 9th Circ.

    The U.S. Department of Justice said it will appeal to the Ninth Circuit after a federal judge tossed its suit accusing the state of Nevada and its public employees retirement system of overcharging service members for pension credits.

  • February 13, 2025

    Tesla, Objector Appeal $730M Chancery Board Pay Deal

    Tesla Inc. and a stockholder objector have appealed a Delaware Court of Chancery approval of the return of more than $730 million in director stock, option and grant awards to the company that would resolve a suit accusing the electric-car maker's board of raking in "outrageous" compensation packages that cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

  • February 13, 2025

    Old Dominion Worker's Gender-Affirming Care Suit Dropped

    A transgender woman participating in an Old Dominion employee health plan agreed to drop her suit alleging she was wrongly denied gender-affirming care coverage for facial hair removal after a Washington federal judge dismissed the case in January, citing a settlement of the dispute.

  • February 13, 2025

    Maryland Judge Blocks Trump's Orders On Trans Healthcare

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from restricting gender-affirming care for people under the age of 19 and required the administration to keep in place federal funding for healthcare providers that provide transgender care. 

  • February 13, 2025

    ADP 401(k) Participants Win Cert. For 50K ERISA Class

    More than 50,000 ADP 401(k) plan participants scored class certification Thursday in their lawsuit accusing the company of retaining poorly performing investments and overcharging them for recordkeeping fees, after a New Jersey federal judge found their claims are typical since they stem from the same alleged fiduciary duty breach by ADP.

  • February 13, 2025

    6th Circ. Stands By Revival Of Parker-Hannifin 401(k) Suit

    The Sixth Circuit declined Parker-Hannifin Corp.'s bid for an en banc review of its ruling that revived a proposed class action from workers who claimed the technology company loaded down its retirement plan with underperforming and costly investment funds.

  • February 13, 2025

    Amazon Worker's $1.6M Fee Bid Slashed In Military Bias Suit

    A Washington federal judge awarded an Amazon worker a fraction of the $1.6 million in attorney fees he requested in his recently settled suit claiming the company blocked him from promotions due to his military service, finding the outcome of the case didn't warrant an amount that high.

  • February 12, 2025

    Trump Picks Encore Fiduciary Founder As DOL Benefits Chief

    The Trump administration on Wednesday nominated Encore Fiduciary's principal and professional fiduciary liability expert Daniel Aronowitz to steer the US Department of Labor's employee benefits division, which produces and enforces federal regulations that apply to employer-provided retirement and healthcare plans.

Expert Analysis

  • Striking A Balance Between AI Use And Attorney Well-Being

    Author Photo

    As the legal industry increasingly adopts generative artificial intelligence tools to boost efficiency, leaders must note the hidden costs of increased productivity, and work to protect attorneys’ well-being while unlocking AI’s full potential, says Ed Sohn at Factor.

  • Insurance Industry Impacts If DOL Fiduciary Rule Is Revived

    Author Photo

    If implemented following an ongoing appeal at the Fifth Circuit, the U.S. Department of Labor’s rule expanding the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's definition of "fiduciary" could chill insurance agents’ and brokers' ability to sell annuities, and lead to an increase in breach of fiduciary duty lawsuits, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • Empathy In Mediation Offers A Soft Landing For Disputes

    Author Photo

    Experiencing a crash-landing on a recent flight underscored to me how much difference empathy makes in times of crisis or stress, including during mediation, says Eydith Kaufman at Alternative Resolution Centers.

  • Series

    Being An Artist Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My work as an artist has highlighted how using creativity and precision together — qualities that are equally essential in both art and law — not only improves outcomes, but also leads to more innovative and thoughtful work, says Sarah La Pearl at Segal McCambridge.

  • How Judiciary Can Minimize AI Risks In Secondary Sources

    Author Photo

    Because courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence and other safeguards do not address the risk of hallucinations in secondary source materials, the judiciary should consider enlisting legal publishers and database hosts to protect against AI-generated inaccuracies, say attorneys at Lankler Siffert & Wohl.

  • Nvidia Case's Potential Impact On Securities Class Actions

    Author Photo

    In Nvidia v. Ohman Fonder, the U.S. Supreme Court could strip lower courts of their long-standing ability and obligation to holistically weigh all relevant facts supporting plaintiffs' allegations of securities fraud, which would have a wide-ranging impact on securities fraud class actions in the U.S., say attorneys at Labaton Keller.

  • How Attorneys Can Break Free From Career Enmeshment

    Author Photo

    Ambitious attorneys can sometimes experience career enmeshment — when your sense of self-worth becomes unhealthily tangled up in your legal vocation — but taking the time to discover and realign with your core personal values can help you recover your identity, says Janna Koretz at Azimuth Psychological.

  • Short-Seller Implications Of 10th Circ.'s Overstock Decision

    Author Photo

    The Tenth Circuit's Oct. 15 decision in Overstock Securities Litigation provides clarity on the pleading standard for a market manipulation claim under the Exchange Act, and suggests that short sellers might not be able to rely on the fraud-on-the-market presumption typically invoked by securities plaintiffs, say attorneys at Paul Weiss.

  • Lawyers With Disabilities Are Seeking Equity, Not Pity

    Author Photo

    Attorneys living with disabilities face extra challenges — including the need for special accommodations, the fear of stigmatization and the risk of being tokenized — but if given equitable opportunities, they can still rise to the top of their field, says Kate Reder Sheikh, a former attorney and legal recruiter at Major Lindsey & Africa.

  • Employer Lessons From Mass. 'Bonus Not Wages' Ruling

    Author Photo

    In Nunez v. Syncsort, a Massachusetts state appeals court recently held that a terminated employee’s retention bonus did not count as wages under the state’s Wage Act, illustrating the nuanced ways “wages” are defined by state statutes and courts, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • Opinion

    Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules

    Author Photo

    The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.

  • The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO

    Author Photo

    The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.

  • Series

    Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.

  • Tobacco Surcharge Suits Spotlight Wellness Reg Compliance

    Author Photo

    A mounting wave of tobacco-user surcharge litigation against employee benefit plans highlights compliance challenges associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act wellness regulations, and reminds plan sponsors to ask existential questions about the utility of their wellness programs, say Finn Pressly and Lesley Wolf at Ballard Spahr.

  • What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.

    Author Photo

    Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Benefits archive.
Hello! I'm Law360's automated support bot.

How can I help you today?

For example, you can type:
  • I forgot my password
  • I took a free trial but didn't get a verification email
  • How do I sign up for a newsletter?
Ask a question!