Benefits

  • April 17, 2024

    School District To Pay $200K To End EEOC Age Bias Suit

    An Illinois school district will pay about $206,000 to bring an end to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it capped salary increases for teachers over 45 to dodge increased retirement payments, the agency said Wednesday.

  • April 17, 2024

    Ogletree Expands Into Western NY With Ex-Goldberg Atty

    Management-side employment firm Ogletree Deakins is expanding into western New York, announcing Tuesday that it is adding a shareholder in Buffalo from Goldberg Segalla.

  • April 17, 2024

    Tesla To Vote On Reviving Musk's $55B Pay, Moving To Texas

    Attorneys for Tesla Inc. notified Delaware's chancellor Wednesday that the company will seek stockholder approval June 13 for the same $55.8 billion Elon Musk compensation plan voided by Chancery Court on Jan. 30, along with reincorporation of Tesla as a Texas company.

  • April 17, 2024

    Waste Co. Strikes Deal To End 401(k) Mismanagement Suit

    A waste management company reached an agreement to end a former worker's proposed class action claiming it breached federal benefits law by stacking its $813 million retirement plan with needlessly expensive funds, according to a filing in Massachusetts federal court.

  • April 17, 2024

    Discovery In $500M Severance Fight Against X, Musk Will Wait

    A California federal judge paused discovery in a suit claiming X, formerly Twitter, owes $500 million in severance to the workers the company laid off after Elon Musk's takeover, saying the court should wait to sort out the company's dismissal bid.

  • April 17, 2024

    Court Trims Atty Fee Bid For Xerox Workers' $4.1M ERISA Deal

    After a $4.1 million Connecticut ERISA settlement, a federal court has awarded more than $1 million in fees to attorneys who represented a class of nearly 40,000 Xerox workers, determining a one-quarter fee amount was more appropriate than the requested one-third cut.

  • April 16, 2024

    NY High Court Zeroes In On Abortion Coverage Exemptions

    New York's highest court grappled Tuesday with whether a state regulation's exemption process shielding religious groups from a requirement that employee health plans cover abortions conflicted with a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision, with multiple judges questioning the constitutionality of the carveout procedure.

  • April 16, 2024

    Ex-NBA Guard Gets 18 Months In Healthcare Scheme

    A former Detroit Pistons point guard was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday after being convicted of one of two counts over an alleged scheme to defraud the NBA's healthcare plan, with a Manhattan federal judge saying his proceeds were "not chump change" and faulting his behavior on pretrial release.

  • April 16, 2024

    NJ Financial Counselor Cops To Defrauding Army Families

    A New Jersey financial counselor with the U.S. Army and a major in the U.S. Army Reserve pled guilty in federal court on Tuesday to defrauding Gold Star families and other related crimes, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

  • April 16, 2024

    Amway Parent Must Face Trial In Retirees' 401(k) Suit

    A Michigan federal judge refused Tuesday to totally free Amway's parent company from a class action accusing it of stacking its 401(k) with unwise investments and excessive fees, saying a jury should determine whether the company's investment review process was prudent.

  • April 16, 2024

    IRS Extends Excise Tax Relief For Min. Plan Distribution

    Plans that fail to make certain required minimum distributions in 2024 will not be assessed an excise tax under changes made to retirement plan legislation, the Internal Revenue Service said in guidance released Tuesday.

  • April 16, 2024

    Justices Say Army Vet Owed More Education Benefits

    An Army veteran who sought additional education benefits to attend Yale Divinity School is owed more federal assistance, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday, upending an en banc Federal Circuit ruling that took a narrower view of what he is entitled to based on his multiple tours of duty.

  • April 15, 2024

    Resistance To Patent Licenses Drives More Suits, Execs Say

    Companies that generate revenue from patents are seeing less willingness to negotiate in recent years among businesses they approach about potential licenses, requiring more litigation in order to reach agreements, executives from IBM, InterDigital and others said Monday.

  • April 15, 2024

    Coal Exec's Widow Seeks Atty Fees After Toss Of $6.5B Suit

    The widow of a bankrupt coal company's former president requested $525,000 in attorney fees and costs Monday after a D.C. federal judge tossed a suit alleging her husband's estate and another business owed a union pension plan $6.5 billion, saying the plan's trustees can afford to pay.

  • April 15, 2024

    Whistleblower Says Lab Co. Ran COVID-Testing Scheme

    A California-based diagnostics firm and its CEO have been hit with a whistleblower suit in Washington federal court by an ex-lab director who claims an affiliated company flouted regulatory standards and fraudulently billed government healthcare programs for COVID-19 tests on patients with private insurance.

  • April 15, 2024

    Republican AGs Ask 5th Circ. To Knock Out DOL Rule For ESG

    A group of Republican-led states have urged the Fifth Circuit to scrap a U.S. Department of Labor rule allowing retirement advisers to consider social and political issues when choosing investments, arguing that the agency is flouting protections set in stone by federal benefits law.

  • April 15, 2024

    2nd Circ. Affirms Telecom Co.'s $13M Union Pension Bill

    The Second Circuit upheld a New York federal court's determination that a telecommunications company owed $13 million in withdrawal liability to a multiemployer pension plan for electrical and contract workers, agreeing Monday with an arbitrator's finding that a construction industry exception didn't apply to the disputed work.

  • April 15, 2024

    Ballard Spahr Adds Benefits Pro In Ga. From Union Pacific

    An employee benefits and executive compensation attorney has moved to private practice at Ballard Spahr LLP after spending more than a decade in-house at Union Pacific Railroad.

  • April 15, 2024

    Bomb Dog Trainer Links Cancer To Job In Benefits Denial Suit

    A Massachusetts state police trooper says he was diagnosed with cancer after being exposed to hazardous materials while training an explosives-detection dog at Logan Airport, according to a suit seeking line of duty injury benefits.

  • April 15, 2024

    Justices Won't Review ERISA Suit Over Heart Transplant

    The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the Fourth Circuit's decision only partially reviving a suit brought by the mother of a deceased airline worker whose employer refused to cover his heart transplant surgery until after his death.

  • April 12, 2024

    Petition Watch: Judge DQs, 'Excessive' Damages & Price Wars

    A former al-Qaida member has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify disqualification protocol for judges overseeing a case related to their prior work as a government attorney, and energy drink manufacturers want the court to develop a modern-day test to determine if companies qualify as price-discrimination competitors. Here's four high court petitions filed recently that you might've missed.

  • April 12, 2024

    Mich. High Court Snapshot: Atty Sanctions Kick Off April

    The Michigan Supreme Court returns Tuesday for its April session, hearing oral arguments about judges' ability to sanction lawyers for past attorneys' work in a case, what defendants say could be double recovery in wrongful death cases, and an attempt to use a Larry Nassar-inspired law to sue Catholic priests for decades-old abuse allegations.

  • April 12, 2024

    5th Circ. Says High Court Ruling Buoys ERISA Suit

    The Fifth Circuit has reinstated a proposed class action alleging an outpatient surgery network failed to trim expensive share classes and high fees from its retirement plan, after applying a newly enacted plan participant-friendly analysis of federal benefit law claims established by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  • April 12, 2024

    Ex-Exec Says MLB Underpaid Retirement Benefits By $5.9M

    A former Major League Baseball executive told a New York federal court he's owed $5.9 million in retirement benefits based on the league's erroneous calculation that excluded substantial bonuses he received during his decades-long tenure.

  • April 12, 2024

    Santos Says Feds Withheld Key Evidence For Over A Year

    Former U.S. Rep. George Santos accused New York federal prosecutors of withholding evidence that he said undermined their fraud and campaign finance charges against him.

Expert Analysis

  • Preparing Law Students For A New, AI-Assisted Legal World

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    As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the legal landscape, law schools must integrate technology and curricula that address AI’s innate challenges — from ethics to data security — to help students stay ahead of the curve, say Daniel Garrie at Law & Forensics, Ryan Abbott at JAMS and Karen Silverman at Cantellus Group.

  • General Counsel Need Data Literacy To Keep Up With AI

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    With the rise of accessible and powerful generative artificial intelligence solutions, it is imperative for general counsel to understand the use and application of data for myriad important activities, from evaluating the e-discovery process to monitoring compliance analytics and more, says Colin Levy at Malbek.

  • Navigating Discovery Of Generative AI Information

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools become increasingly ubiquitous, companies must make sure to preserve generative AI data when there is reasonable expectation of litigation, and to include transcripts in litigation hold notices, as they may be relevant to discovery requests, say Nick Peterson and Corey Hauser at Wiley.

  • Finding Focus: Strategies For Attorneys With ADHD

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    Given the prevalence of ADHD among attorneys, it is imperative that the legal community gain a better understanding of how ADHD affects well-being, and that resources and strategies exist for attorneys with this disability to manage their symptoms and achieve success, say Casey Dixon at Dixon Life Coaching and Krista Larson at Stinson.

  • AI Use May Trigger False Claims Act's Public Disclosure Bar

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    The likely use of publicly available artificial intelligence tools to detect government fraud by combing through large data sets will raise complex questions about a False Claims Act provision that prohibits the filing of claims based on previously disclosed information, say Nick Peterson and Spencer Brooks at Wiley Rein.

  • Attorneys, Law Schools Must Adapt To New Era Of Evidence

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    Technological advancements mean more direct evidence is being created than ever before, and attorneys as well as law schools must modify their methods to account for new challenges in how this evidence is collected and used to try cases, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • The Self-Funded Plan's Guide To Gender-Affirming Coverage

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    Self-funded group health plans face complicated legal risks when determining whether to cover gender-affirming health benefits for their transgender participants, so plan sponsors should carefully weigh how federal nondiscrimination laws and state penalties for providing care for trans minors could affect their decision to offer coverage, say Tim Kennedy and Anne Tyler Hall at Hall Benefits Law.

  • Tips For Litigating Against Pro Se Parties In Complex Disputes

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    Litigating against self-represented parties in complex cases can pose unique challenges for attorneys, but for the most part, it requires the same skills that are useful in other cases — from documenting everything to understanding one’s ethical duties, says Bryan Ketroser at Alto Litigation.

  • How Justices' Disclosure Ruling May Change Corp. Filings

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    In the upcoming Macquarie Infrastructure v. Moab Partners case, the U.S. Supreme Court will resolve a circuit split over whether a company may be sued for private securities fraud if they fail to disclose certain financial information in public filings, which may change the way management analyzes industry risks and trends for investors, says Paul Kisslinger at Lewis Brisbois.

  • Pro Bono Work Is Powerful Self-Help For Attorneys

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    Oct. 22-28 is Pro Bono Week, serving as a useful reminder that offering free legal help to the public can help attorneys expand their legal toolbox, forge community relationships and create human connections, despite the challenges of this kind of work, says Orlando Lopez at Culhane Meadows.

  • Series

    Playing In A Rock Cover Band Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Performing in a classic rock cover band has driven me to hone several skills — including focus, organization and networking — that have benefited my professional development, demonstrating that taking time to follow your muse outside of work can be a boon to your career, says Michael Gambro at Cadwalader.

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge Espinosa On 'Lincoln Lawyer'

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    The murder trials in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” illustrate the stark contrast between the ethical high ground that fosters and maintains the criminal justice system's integrity, and the ethical abyss that can undermine it, with an important reminder for all legal practitioners, say Judge Adam Espinosa and Andrew Howard at the Colorado 2nd Judicial District Court.

  • What ESG Investing Ruling Means For Fiduciaries

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    A Texas federal court’s recent ruling — upholding a U.S. Department of Labor rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider ESG factors in certain investment decisions — provides welcome clarity for plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act that have long been buffeted by partisan noise and misinformation, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Opinion

    Newman Suspension Shows Need For Judicial Reform

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    The recent suspension of U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman following her alleged refusal to participate in a disability inquiry reveals the need for judicial misconduct reforms to ensure that judges step down when they can no longer serve effectively, says Aliza Shatzman at The Legal Accountability Project.

  • How 2 Cases Could Undermine The Anti-ESG Movement

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    A decision from a federal court in Texas and another case currently making its way through Missouri federal court signal an emerging judicial recognition of the link between environmental, social and governance considerations and maximizing financial returns, say Amy Roy and Robert Skinner at Ropes & Gray.

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