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Benefits
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August 17, 2024
George Santos To Plead Guilty Before Campaign Fraud Trial
Former U.S. Rep. George Santos has agreed to plead guilty to multiple criminal charges just weeks before his scheduled campaign finance fraud trial in New York federal court, Law360 learned Saturday.
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August 16, 2024
Intuit Decision Shows 401(k) Forfeiture Suits Gaining Traction
A California federal judge's recent decision refusing to toss a federal benefits lawsuit alleging Intuit misspent 401(k) plan forfeitures shows how a novel pleading under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act has gained a foothold in some district courts, attorneys say. Here's a rundown with attorneys on the Intuit ruling and what to expect as more large employers are being targeted with proposed class action litigation challenging 401(k) forfeiture spending.
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August 16, 2024
LifePoint Stiffed Workers On Retirement Savings, Suit Says
LifePoint Health Inc. cost workers millions by failing to use forfeited funds in the company's $2.4 billion retirement plan to cut expenses and instead used the money to subsidize its own contributions, according to a suit plan participants filed in Tennessee federal court.
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August 16, 2024
Carpenters Union Healthcare Plan Seeks To Ax Worker's Suit
A Carpenters-represented worker who lost health insurance once the union's healthcare plan stopped working with his employer lacks standing to sue the plan, the plan and its trustees argued in California federal court, suggesting the worker raise the issue with his employer or the union itself.
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August 16, 2024
Ga. BCBS Fights Hospital Remand Bid In Reimbursement Suit
A Georgia Blue Cross Blue Shield unit is fighting a California hospital's push to have a lawsuit seeking $905,000 in reimbursements sent back to a Georgia state court, arguing the hospital's state law claims are preempted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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August 16, 2024
6th Circ. Nixes Union Local's Win In Steel Co. Benefit Row
The Sixth Circuit has reversed a judgment that a reinforced-steel contractor owes about $2 million in unpaid fringe benefit contributions to journeymen who traveled from other states to work on a project in Michigan, finding there was insufficient evidence to support the award.
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August 16, 2024
Workers Nab Class Status In Dish Network 401(k) Row
A Colorado federal judge granted a group of workers class certification in their suit alleging Dish Network mismanaged its retirement fund and cost participants millions in savings by failing to snip an underperforming Fidelity Freedom Fund target date suite from the plan.
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August 16, 2024
Ex-Genworth Financial Workers Nab Class Cert. In 401(k) Suit
A Virginia federal judge approved a nearly 4,000-member class of Genworth Financial Inc. 401(k) plan participants who claimed they lost millions of dollars in retirement savings because of underperforming BlackRock target-date funds, rejecting the insurance company's assertion that potential class members had conflicting interests.
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August 16, 2024
Breaks In Union Work Axed Mechanic's Pension, Judge Says
A longtime mechanic forfeited his union pension by taking two multi-year breaks from accepting union-covered work, an Illinois federal judge ruled, siding with a union pension fund in its dispute with the mechanic over his pension eligibility.
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August 16, 2024
Connecticut Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report
Several high-stakes Connecticut cases came to a close in the first half of 2024, resulting in the resolution of Frontier Communications' $21.8 million feud with its ex-CEO and a $26.5 million deal for RTX Corp. subcontractors and employees who alleged that anticompetitive no-poach agreements prevented them from advancing their careers.
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August 16, 2024
Connecticut Legislation Passed In 2024: A Midyear Report
While Connecticut workers may rejoice over a major expansion of paid sick leave that will begin to roll out next year, businesses will need to spend some time and effort getting ready to implement the new law, attorneys told Law360.
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August 16, 2024
New Jersey Litigation Highlights Of 2024: A Midyear Report
A court's upheaval of New Jersey's longstanding "county line" ballot layout for the Democratic primary fueled both sides of the lively political aisle this year, while the same federal judge also riled the state's pharmaceutical hotbed by ending two challenges to Medicare's ability to negotiate drug prices. Here, Law360 looks at some of the notable cases so far in New Jersey.
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August 15, 2024
2023 Rule Revising Hospital Payments Struck Down
A Texas federal judge on Thursday sided with about a dozen hospitals challenging a federal regulation that they say will curtail their payments for treating low-income patients, declaring the rule unlawful and setting it aside.
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August 15, 2024
9th Circ. Judges Seem To Split On Wash. Abortion Coverage
A Ninth Circuit judge asked Thursday how a church could be harmed by a Washington law requiring employee health plans to cover abortions, since none of its workers had ever actually sought one, while another judge asked if tossing the case would slam the door on religious objections.
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August 15, 2024
Stop 'Pointing Fingers,' Judge Tells Blue Cross, Mich. Tribe
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday urged counsel in a Native American tribe's lawsuit alleging Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan improperly billed for members' healthcare to heed his repeated advice and focus on the merits of the case, denying both parties' attempts to punish the other.
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August 15, 2024
Northeast Grocery Chain Escapes 401(k) Mismanagement Suit
The parent company of grocery chain Price Chopper defeated a proposed class action alleging it allowed its 401(k) plan to be bogged down with underperforming funds and excessive costs, with a New York federal judge ruling Thursday that workers hadn't provided enough detail to sustain their claims.
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August 15, 2024
Chemical Co. Inks $1.1M Deal To End 401(k) Row
A group of former Univar Solutions USA Inc. employees asked an Illinois federal judge Thursday to greenlight a $1.1 million deal to shutter their suit claiming the chemical company saddled their $978 million retirement plan with excessive administrative fees.
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August 15, 2024
Caterpillar Must Face Illinois Ex-Workers' Genetic Privacy Suit
Caterpillar Inc. can't escape a proposed class action alleging it violated an Illinois genetic information privacy statute by asking job applicants about their family medical history, a federal judge ruled, rejecting the machinery manufacturer's assertion that it didn't intend to collect the data.
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August 15, 2024
Full 11th Circ. To Weigh Georgia Deputy's Trans Health Win
The Eleventh Circuit agreed Thursday to a full-court rehearing of an appeal from Georgia county officials looking to overturn a deputy's win in her suit alleging a health plan coverage exclusion for gender-affirming surgery violated federal anti-discrimination law.
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August 15, 2024
Okla. Says 10th Circ. PBM Ruling Defies High Court Precedent
Oklahoma urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Tenth Circuit decision nullifying certain parts of a state law regulating pharmacy benefit managers, arguing the appeals court's ruling openly conflicts with sister circuits and previous high court rulings while pushing federal benefits law beyond its limits.
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August 14, 2024
Computer Equipment Co. Hid Demand Decline, Investor Says
Cloud network equipment company Extreme Networks Inc. misled investors about its financial prospects and declining client demand as its customers' buying habits changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a proposed class action filed in California federal court.
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August 14, 2024
Wintrust Escapes BlackRock 401(k) Fund Suit
An Illinois federal judge agreed Wednesday to permanently toss a proposed class action against Wintrust Financial Corp. alleging mismanagement of an employee 401(k) plan, finding ex-workers hadn't plausibly alleged their employer violated federal benefits law by offering what they said were underperforming target-date funds.
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August 14, 2024
Fuel Co. Can't Halt Fund's Contributions Dispute, Judge Says
An airplane fueling services company can't escape claims from a Teamsters benefit plan seeking more than $150,000 in unpaid contributions and other costs, a New York federal judge ruled, finding ambiguities with provisions in an agreement about contribution obligations preclude dismissal.
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August 14, 2024
Calbiotech Beats Ex-Worker's 401(k) Retaliation Suit
A former Calbiotech Inc. employee must return a $12,500 payment he received after being terminated, a California federal judge ruled, finding he breached his severance agreement by filing a lawsuit claiming he was let go for asking about the life sciences company's 401(k) plan documents.
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August 14, 2024
Judge Blocks Missouri's Anti-ESG Rules, Handing SIFMA Win
A Missouri federal judge found Wednesday that the state's anti-ESG rules for brokers and advisers violate the First Amendment and are preempted by federal laws, handing the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association an early win in its suit against state officials.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar
At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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Why Calif. Courts Are Split On ERISA Forfeited Contributions
A split between two California federal courts, in deciding whether an employer’s use of forfeited retirement plan contributions to offset future costs violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, suggests employers should soon expect more ERISA cases to advance this novel legal theory when making anti-inurement and breach of fiduciary duty claims, says Blake Crohan at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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American Airlines ESG Ruling Could Alter ERISA Landscape
The Spence v. American Airlines ESG trial, speeding toward a conclusion in a Texas federal court, could foretell a dramatic expansion in ERISA liability, with plan sponsors vulnerable to claims that they didn't foresee short-term dips in stock prices, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance
Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.