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Benefits
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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.
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August 14, 2024
Nordstrom Saddled 401(k) Plan With High Fees, Workers Say
Nordstrom cost workers millions in savings by failing to trim excessive fees from its $3.4 billion retirement plan and using forfeited plan funds to cushion its contribution promises, a group of current and former workers alleged in a suit filed in Washington federal court.
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August 14, 2024
Chancery Says Unisys Must Advance Ex-Workers' Legal Fees
Pennsylvania information technology company Unisys Corp. must front the legal fees and expenses for two executives it hired away from French competitor Atos SE and then sued for trade secret infringement after they went back to Atos two years later, Delaware's Court of Chancery has ruled.
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August 13, 2024
Atlassian Again Beats Investor Suit Over Software Co.'s Slump
Investors in software company Atlassian Corp. haven't shored up claims that the company hid a slowdown in a key growth metric before a 2022 earnings miss, a San Francisco federal judge has decided, dismissing a proposed class action but giving plaintiffs one more shot at their claims.
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August 13, 2024
2nd Circ. Partially Revives Retirees' JPMorgan Benefits Suit
The Second Circuit on Tuesday partially resurrected a retired JPMorgan Chase employee's putative class action claiming it failed to properly notify and inform workers after the retirement plan was converted to a cash balance plan, ruling that JPMorgan had properly notified retirees as to only some aspects of the change.
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August 13, 2024
Intuit Can't Escape Ex-Employee's 401(k) Forfeiture Suit
A California federal judge has rejected Intuit's bid to toss a former employee's proposed class action claiming the company improperly used money from forfeited, nonvested accounts to reduce its own 401(k) matching contributions, but the judge trimmed claims the plaintiff agreed to drop related to the plan's administrative committee.
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August 13, 2024
10th Circ. Says Mine Can't Undo Worker's Black Lung Benefits
A Tenth Circuit panel on Tuesday rejected a coal mining company's attempt to prevent a retired Utah miner from getting benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act, finding the miner's time working in above-ground facilities did not remove the law's presumption in his favor.
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August 13, 2024
9th Circ. Reverses Order Sending Insulin Suit To State Court
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday sided with CVS Caremark and Express Scripts, ruling that a lower court erred in 2023 when it agreed to send California's allegations of inflated insulin prices back to state court.
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August 13, 2024
Quarry Liable For Layoff Notices, NLRB Tells DC Circ.
The National Labor Relations Board correctly found that a quarry operator illegally issued layoff notices to union supporters, the agency argued to the D.C. Circuit on Tuesday, saying the company hadn't followed its practice of laying people off during cold weather.
Expert Analysis
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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.
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Dueling Calif. Rulings Offer Insight On 401(k) Forfeiture Suits
Two recent decisions from California federal courts regarding novel Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims around 401(k) forfeitures provide early tea leaves for companies that may face similar litigation, offering reasons for both optimism and concern over the future direction of the law, say Ashley Johnson and Jennafer Tryck at Gibson Dunn.
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Loss Causation Ruling Departs From Usual Securities Cases
A California federal court recently dismissed Ramos v. Comerica, finding that the allegations failed to establish loss causation, but the reasoning is in tension with the pleading-stage approaches generally followed by both courts and economists in securities fraud litigation, say Jesse Jensen and Aasiya Glover at Bernstein Litowitz.
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Opinion
Now More Than Ever, Lawyers Must Exhibit Professionalism
As society becomes increasingly fractured and workplace incivility is on the rise, attorneys must champion professionalism and lead by example, demonstrating how lawyers can respectfully disagree without being disagreeable, says Edward Casmere at Norton Rose.
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Series
Serving In The National Guard Makes Me A Better Lawyer
My ongoing military experience as a judge advocate general in the National Guard has shaped me as a person and a lawyer, teaching me the importance of embracing confidence, balance and teamwork in both my Army and civilian roles, says Danielle Aymond at Baker Donelson.
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A Midyear Forecast: Tailwinds Expected For Atty Hourly Rates
Hourly rates for partners, associates and support staff continued to rise in the first half of this year, and this growth shows no signs of slowing for the rest of 2024 and into next year, driven in part by the return of mergers and acquisitions and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, says Chuck Chandler at Valeo Partners.
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Accidental Death Ruling Shows ERISA Review Standard's Pull
The Eleventh Circuit’s recent accidental death insurance ruling in Goldfarb v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance illustrates how an arbitrary and capricious standard of review in Employee Retirement Income Security Act denial-of-benefits cases creates a steep uphill battle for benefit claimants, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Opinion
States Should Loosen Law Firm Ownership Restrictions
Despite growing buzz, normalized nonlawyer ownership of law firms is a distant prospect, so the legal community should focus first on liberalizing state restrictions on attorney and firm purchases of practices, which would bolster succession planning and improve access to justice, says Michael Di Gennaro at The Law Practice Exchange.
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50 Years Later, ERISA Remains A Work In Progress
A look at the 50 years since the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s passage shows that while the law safeguards benefits through vesting rules, fiduciary responsibilities and anti-discrimination provisions, the act falls short in three key areas, says Carol Buckmann at Cohen & Buckmann.
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Series
Solving Puzzles Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Tackling daily puzzles — like Wordle, KenKen and Connections — has bolstered my intellectual property litigation practice by helping me to exercise different mental skills, acknowledge minor but important details, and build and reinforce good habits, says Roy Wepner at Kaplan Breyer.
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1st Gender Care Ban Provides Context For High Court Case
The history of Arkansas' ban on gender-affirming medical care — the first such legislation in the U.S. — provides important insight into the far-reaching ramifications that the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in U.S. v. Skrmetti next term will have on transgender healthcare, says Tyler Saenz at Baker Donelson.
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Texas Ethics Opinion Flags Hazards Of Unauthorized Practice
The Texas Professional Ethics Committee's recently issued proposed opinion finding that in-house counsel providing legal services to the company's clients constitutes the unauthorized practice of law is a valuable clarification given that a UPL violation — a misdemeanor in most states — carries high stakes, say Hilary Gerzhoy and Julienne Pasichow at HWG.
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In Memoriam: The Modern Administrative State
On June 28, the modern administrative state, where courts deferred to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes, died when the U.S. Supreme Court overruled its previous decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council — but it is survived by many cases decided under the Chevron framework, say Joseph Schaeffer and Jessica Deyoe at Babst Calland.