A multiemployer plan that prevails in an action to collect delinquent contributions or withdrawal liability is statutorily entitled to recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs “of the action.” In International Painters &...more
A federal district court in Illinois became the first court to rule that an employer’s credit for a prior partial withdrawal should be applied at the end of the statute’s “waterfall” for calculating withdrawal liability. The...more
We recently reported on a district court decision holding that the Central States Pension Fund’s calculation of withdrawal liability should not have included contribution rate increases imposed after the Fund’s implementation...more
5/12/2025
/ Appeals ,
Appellate Courts ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Withdrawal Liability
In Central States, S.E. & S.W. Pension Fund v. McKesson Corp., No. 23-cv-16770, 2025 WL 81358 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 13, 2025), the district court affirmed that a multiemployer pension plan’s calculation of withdrawal liability...more
Multiemployer benefit plans generally require contributing employers to submit “remittance reports” that identify the employees that performed covered work, the type of work performed, and the amount of time worked. Plans...more
1/27/2025
/ Collective Bargaining ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Contributions ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pensions ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
Unions
In Su v. Fensler, No. 22-cv-01030, 2023 WL 5152640 (N.D. Ill. Aug. 10, 2023), the court granted the Department of Labor’s motion for a preliminary injunction to replace with an independent fiduciary the trustees of the United...more
Editor’s Overview -
Of course, on the top of everyone’s minds these days is COVID-19. In this edition of Proskauer’s ERISA Newsletter, our colleagues discuss some of the legislation and guidance that has been issued over...more
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a withdrawal liability decision of which both multiemployer pension plans and their contributing employers should be aware. Specifically, in National Retirement Fund v. Metz...more
In this edition of our Newsletter, we take a look at a pair of cases that, while unrelated, together remind us of the importance of having clear plan rules in place that reflect the plan sponsor’s intention. The first article...more
10/11/2019
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Standing ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Withdrawal Liability
The Fifth Circuit concluded that a plan’s three-year contractual limitations period began to accrue when a beneficiary received a letter in 2008 that prominently displayed on the first page the monthly earnings used to...more
The Tenth Circuit upheld a claims administrator’s decision denying a claim for residential mental health treatment as not medically necessary...more
Editor's Overview -
We often talk about the importance of evaluating whether there are any procedural obstacles to plaintiffs pursuing their ERISA claims, particularly in complex, class actions where it may not be...more
4/3/2019
/ Administrative Remedies ,
Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Discovery ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Harm ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
IRS ,
Notice Requirements ,
Standard of Review ,
Standing
As we closed the door on 2018, we were met by two surprising decisions—one from a panel of the Second Circuit addressing employer stock drop litigation, and one from a federal district court in Texas declaring the entire...more
1/11/2019
/ 403(b) Plans ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Amgen v Harris ,
Breach of Duty ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Health Insurance ,
IRS ,
Plan Administrators ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Section 409A ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Drop Litigation ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
As we head into the thick of summer, all eyes are on President Trump's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy and the impact the new Justice will have on shaping the law for...more
7/11/2018
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Beneficiaries ,
Bi-Partison Balanced Budget Act (BBA) ,
Breach of Duty ,
Clawbacks ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
HDHP ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Murder ,
Plan Administrators ,
Preemption ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Retirement Plan ,
Slayer Statutes
The Ninth Circuit held that employer contributions due to a Taft Hartley fund are not plan assets until they are actually paid to the fund, irrespective of whether the plan document defines plan assets to include unpaid...more
Despite the change in seasons, there appears to be no change in the pace of complex and class action ERISA litigation. Investments in defined contribution plans—both 401(k) and 403(b) plans—continue to be the leading target...more
4/11/2018
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Bi-Partison Balanced Budget Act (BBA) ,
Books & Records ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Hardship Distributions ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRS ,
Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act (MPPAA) ,
Mutual Funds ,
National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
Self-Dealing ,
Standing
A Third Circuit decision, Sikora v. UPMC, 876 F.3d 110 (3d Cir. 2017), deepens a circuit split over whether a participant’s bargaining power is relevant to determining whether a plan qualifies for “top hat” status under...more
2/23/2018
/ Bargaining Power ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Former Employee ,
Funding Requirements ,
Highly Compensated Employees ,
Retirement Plan ,
Vesting
Editor’s Overview -
In 2016, we saw a considerable uptick in the number and variety of excessive fee lawsuits commenced against plan fiduciaries of defined contribution plans. We begin the year by taking a look at these...more
1/31/2017
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
AARP ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Collective Bargaining ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Adviser ,
GINA ,
Investment Funds ,
Irreparable Harm ,
Lifetime Health Benefits ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Reservation of Rights ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan ,
Revenue Sharing ,
Self-Dealing ,
Unions ,
Vesting ,
Wellness Programs
In Vangas v. Montefiore Medical Center, 2016 WL 2909354 (2d Cir. May 19, 2016), the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s holding that an employer is not liable for failing to provide a COBRA notice to a terminated...more
Editor’s Overview -
This month we review the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Montanile v. Board of Trustees of National Elevator Industries Health Benefit Plan where the Supreme Court considered the scope of...more
3/29/2016
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Anti-Assignment Clauses ,
Applicable Large Employers (ALE) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Determination on Remand ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equitable Lien ,
Equitable Relief ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Plan Sponsors ,
IRS ,
McCutchen v. U.S. Airways ,
Medical Expenses ,
Medical Liens ,
Montanile v Board of Trustees ,
Penalties ,
Reimbursements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
RJ Reynolds ,
RJR Nabisco ,
SCOTUS ,
Settlement ,
Subrogation ,
Vesting