Try our Advanced Search for more refined results
Benefits
-
August 29, 2024
Airline Ducks Liquidated Damages In Military Leave Suit
A class of pilots accusing American Airlines of violating the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 by denying pay for time spent on military leave can't seek liquidated damages, given a lack of evidence that the airline knew it was breaking the law, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Thursday.
-
August 29, 2024
8th Circ. Won't Revive O'Reilly Auto Parts 401(k) Fee Suit
The Eighth Circuit refused Thursday to reopen a proposed class action claiming O'Reilly Automotive Inc. let its $1.1 billion employee retirement plan be saddled with excessive investment management and record-keeping fees, ruling workers leading the suit hadn't provided meaningful comparisons by which to measure the plan's costs.
-
August 29, 2024
GAO Suggests IRS Improve Retirement Account Oversight
The Internal Revenue Service needs to beef up its oversight of conflicts of interest between fiduciaries and individual retirement account investors, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report.
-
August 29, 2024
Conn. ER Docs Ask To Drop Harvard Pilgrim Insurance Fight
A staffing company covering six Connecticut emergency rooms has asked a federal judge to dismiss its lawsuit against Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of Connecticut Inc. after the state's highest court last week ruled in the insurer's favor on three certified questions of law regarding a surprise billing statute.
-
August 29, 2024
Full 11th Circ. Won't Rehear Ala. Trans Care Ban Challenge
The Eleventh Circuit said it will not reconsider its ruling allowing Alabama to enact a ban on certain gender-affirming medical care for minors, knocking down a challenge brought by parents and those who received the treatment of the circuit's ruling, which found that the ban doesn't flout constitutional rights.
-
August 29, 2024
Waters Corp. Strikes Deal To End 401(k) ERISA Action
Waters Corp. has indicated that it plans to settle a proposed class action brought by a former employee claiming the company's mismanagement of its retirement plan violated its fiduciary duty to plan participants.
-
August 29, 2024
Healthcare Co.'s $1.5M Pension Fund Deal Gets Initial OK
A Massachusetts federal judge initially approved a $1.5 million class action deal halting a federal benefits suit against a healthcare company alleging it filled its $500 million pension plan with costly investments and failed to keep administrative fees low.
-
August 29, 2024
GOP States Ask Justices To Undo Trans Patients' 4th Circ. Win
A group of two dozen Republican attorneys general told the U.S. Supreme Court it should review a Fourth Circuit decision barring West Virginia and North Carolina from excluding coverage of gender-affirming medical care for transgender people, arguing states need the power to control controversial nascent treatments.
-
August 29, 2024
Cintas Corp.'s $4M 401(k) Fee Suit Deal Gets Final OK
An Ohio federal judge granted final approval to a $4 million settlement ending a proposed class action alleging that uniform supplier Cintas Corp. ran afoul of its fiduciary duties under federal benefits law.
-
August 28, 2024
TikTok Moderation Co. Can't Beat Investor Suit Over Exposés
A Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday that TikTok content moderation company Teleperformance must face a pension fund's proposed class action alleging that investors were harmed after investigative reports were published claiming that the company was working its staff into the ground and forcing them to watch harmful content with no support.
-
August 28, 2024
Raymond James Hit With Suit Over 'Cash Sweep' Programs
Financial services giant Raymond James faces a proposed class action in Florida federal court alleging its so-called cash sweep programs offer interest rates "significantly lower" than those offered by competitors, in violation of federal law.
-
August 28, 2024
Ex-Exec's $1M Suit Accuses Houston McNair Family Of 'Coup'
A longtime employee of the Houston McNair family has accused the children of late businessman Bob McNair of staging a "coup" to oust him from the family's companies, denying him more than $1 million in post-termination benefits in the process.
-
August 28, 2024
Lipitor Buyers Seek Final OK For $35M Deal In Antitrust Fight
End-payor plaintiffs asked a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday to give final approval of a $35 million settlement resolving their antitrust claims against Pfizer over the cholesterol medication Lipitor.
-
August 28, 2024
Teamsters Can't Arbitrate Sysco Pension Spat, Judge Says
A Teamsters local can't take its challenges about a monthly early retirement benefit to arbitration, a Michigan federal judge determined Wednesday, finding that the grievance process under a collective bargaining agreement doesn't cover the dispute.
-
August 28, 2024
Engineering Co. Says Overpriced 401(k) Fee Suit Lacks Proof
An engineering company urged a Virginia federal judge to toss a former employee's proposed class action alleging it automatically enrolled workers into a pricey managed account program in its $5.1 billion retirement plan, arguing that her suit hinges on a problematic "apples-to-oranges comparison."
-
August 28, 2024
11th Circ. Trans Health Redo May Spark Supreme Court Fight
The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision to rehear Georgia county officials' appeal seeking to exclude gender-confirmation surgery from its employee healthcare coverage rekindles an appellate debate on the extent to which Title VII protects transgender workers that could soon reach the U.S. Supreme Court, attorneys say.
-
August 28, 2024
'Big Baby' Scores Delayed Prison Date In Health Fraud Case
Former Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis won approval from a Manhattan federal judge Wednesday to push back his prison surrender date on healthcare fraud charges so he can wrap up production of a documentary film.
-
August 28, 2024
Insurer Avoids Covering $1.9M Conn. Securities Judgment
A Liberty Mutual unit has no duty to cover an approximately $1.9 million stipulated judgment a couple won after alleging that certain officials of a company Liberty insured defrauded them into investing, a Connecticut state court ruled, finding that covering the judgment would violate state public policy.
-
August 28, 2024
Conn. Investment Firm Withheld Pay, Commissions, Suit Says
Six former employees of Connecticut investment advisory firm Excel Wealth Management LLC have sued the company and its members in state court seeking hourly wages or commissions they claimed they were never paid, with some alleging they were terminated for speaking out about their compensation.
-
August 28, 2024
Class Attys Seek Review Of Del. Magistrate's Doc Suit Toss
Stockholder attorneys probing Paramount Global's allegedly conflicted Skydance Media merger in Delaware's Chancery Court have challenged as unsupportable and unprecedented a magistrate's rejection of anonymously sourced news reports in a dismissal of their bid for court-ordered document access.
-
August 28, 2024
Ga. Appeals Court Says Worker Should Get Pandemic Aid
The Georgia Court of Appeals overturned a superior court order affirming the denial of pandemic unemployment assistance benefits to a college student who worked part-time at a Chick-fil-A, saying both the trial court and the Georgia Department of Labor's review board wrongly found he quit his job for personal reasons.
-
August 28, 2024
Auto Parts Co. Secures Initial OK For $2.9M 401(k) Deal
A Michigan federal judge gave an initial green light Wednesday to a $2.9 million agreement to resolve a class action accusing auto parts manufacturer Magna International of failing to remove flawed investment options from its retirement plan and costing workers millions of dollars in retirement savings.
-
August 28, 2024
Conn. Dental Practices Settle False Claims Case For $1.7M
Three dental practices in Connecticut and their owners have paid a $1.7 million settlement after federal and state authorities accused them of using an illegal patient recruiting tactic and paying kickbacks that ripped off Medicaid.
-
August 28, 2024
DOL Backs IBM Retirees' Bid To Revive Suit At 2nd Circ.
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Second Circuit to revive a proposed class action alleging IBM shorted retirees on pension payments through the use of outdated mortality data, stating the lower court's ruling tossing the case "flies in the face" of U.S. Supreme Court precedent.
-
August 27, 2024
'Big Baby' Asks To Wrap Documentary Before Going To Prison
Former Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis asked a Manhattan federal judge Tuesday to delay the start of his 40-month prison sentence for his role in a scheme to submit fraudulent invoices to an NBA healthcare plan in order to finish filming a documentary about his life.
Expert Analysis
-
How Justices Upended The Administrative Procedure Act
In its recent Loper Bright, Corner Post and Jarkesy decisions, the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed the Administrative Procedure Act in ways that undermine Congress and the executive branch, shift power to the judiciary, curtail public and business input, and create great uncertainty, say Alene Taber and Beth Hummer at Hanson Bridgett.
-
Opinion
DOL's Impending Mental Health Act Regs Should Be Simplified
The U.S. Department of Labor should consider revising these six issues in its forthcoming Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act regulations to ease the significant compliance hurdles for group health plan sponsors, says Alden Bianchi at McDermott.
-
Opinion
Texas Judges Ignored ERISA's Core To Stall Fiduciary Rule
Two recent rulings from Texas federal courts, which rely on a plainly wrong reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to effectively strike a forthcoming rule that would impose functional fiduciary duties onto sellers of investment services, may expose financially unsophisticated 401(k) participants to peddlers of misleading advice, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
-
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
-
Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
-
Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
-
Parsing NJ Court's Rationale For Denying Lipitor Class Cert.
A New Jersey federal court's recent Lipitor rulings granting summary judgment and denying motions for class certification for two plaintiff classes offer insight into the level of rigorous analysis required by both parties and their experts to satisfy the requirements of class certification, says Catia Twal at Edgeworth Economics.
-
Series
After Chevron: Challenges Loom For PBGC Actions
After Loper Bright, two recent actions taken by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. already under scrutiny seem destined to be challenged and resolved under the new standard of judicial deference, which will greatly affect employers with potential withdrawal liability exposure, say Robert Perry and David Pixley at Jackson Lewis.
-
3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
-
E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
-
Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
-
Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
-
A Guide To Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Determinations
With final regulations under the Secure Act requiring 401(k) retirement benefits for long-term, part-time employees expected soon, Amy Sheridan and David Guadagnoli at Sullivan & Worcester look at how the proposed rules would shift the risk-reward calculus on excluding categories of employees, and what plan sponsors would need to consider when designing retirement plans.
-
Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
-
Series
After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch
The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.