On April 14, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its highly anticipated re-proposed regulation addressing when a person providing investment advice with respect to an employee benefit plan or individual retirement...more
Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its highly anticipated re-proposed regulation addressing when a person providing investment advice with respect to an employee benefit plan is considered a fiduciary under ERISA....more
Editor's Overview -
As it is well known, in Cigna Corp. v. Amara, 131 S. Ct. 1866 (2011), the U.S. Supreme Court identified several forms of appropriate equitable relief that may be available under Section 502(a)(3) of...more
11/19/2014
/ ADEA ,
Choice-of-Venue ,
CIGNA v Amara ,
Compensatory Awards ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Equitable Relief ,
Equitable Surcharge ,
FSA ,
IRS ,
Life Insurance ,
Reformation ,
SCOTUS
Editor's Overview -
As the summer draws to a close, no one would fault you if you missed the Fourth Circuit's decision in Tatum v. RJR Pension Investment Committee, which was published on August 4th. However, plan...more
That was the sentiment expressed in a blistering dissent by Fourth Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson in the latest ruling in a lawsuit challenging the decision by the fiduicaries of the RJR 401(k) plan to liquidate two stock...more
Editor's Overview -
The end of the U.S. Supreme Court's term brought two significant ERISA decisions. The first concerns the standard of review that courts apply when evaluating ERISA stock-drop claims. As discussed...more
7/17/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Burwell v Hobby Lobby ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Mandates ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Mental Health Parity Rule ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
SCOTUS ,
Stock Drop Litigation
For over two decades, federal courts have embraced the so-called Moench presumption of prudence in ERISA stock-drop cases. Pursuant to that presumption, courts have routinely dismissed such claims absent allegations in a...more
Earlier today, in Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to adopt the so-called Moench presumption of prudence pursuant to which many circuit courts had dismissed ERISA stock drop claims unless...more
Editor's Overview -
In this month's issue, our authors address severance benefit claims and ERISA disclosure requirements. In our first article, Joe Clark addresses whether a plan administrator should conduct an...more
6/16/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Evidentiary Rulings ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Plan Administrators ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Settlement ,
Severance Agreements ,
Severance Pay
Our first article this month addresses the treatment of the attorney-client privilege in employee benefits matters. Pursuant to the so-called "fiduciary exception," communications between an attorney and a plan fiduciary are...more
It is generally understood that communications between clients and lawyers are privileged and that the substance of those conversations may not be divulged to third parties except in the rarest of circumstances. In the...more
The employee benefits issues to be considered by the U.S. Supreme Court continue to be of great significance to plan sponsors and fiduciaries. This month we review the Court's employee benefit decisions from 2013 and also...more
2/24/2014
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Appeals ,
Class Certification ,
Comcast v. Behrend ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
FICA Taxes ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
First Amendment ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. ,
Hobby Lobby ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Involuntary Reduction in Force ,
IRS ,
McCutchen v. U.S. Airways ,
MHPAEA ,
Provider Payments ,
Quality Stores ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
State of Celebration ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Transition Relief ,
US v Windsor
This month we look at part three of our three part series on Class Actions. In part three, Robert Rachal and M. Todd Mobley address the role of experts in class certification post Wal-Mart and Comcast and how to use and...more
1/21/2014
/ Blue Cross ,
Burden of Proof ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Comcast ,
Contraceptive Coverage Mandate ,
Daubert Standards ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
FRCP 23 ,
General Motors ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Predominance Requirement ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) ,
Wal-Mart
In this month's newsletter we address ten important issues to consider when drafting and amending a summary plan description. ...more
The Second Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of former Lehman Brothers employees’ fiduciary breach claims relating to their investment in the Lehman Brothers stock fund through their 401(k) plan. Rinehart v. Akers, 2013...more
As Amy Covert and Aaron Feuer discuss below, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. where it is expected to rule next term on whether plan sponsors may dictate in the...more
7/12/2013
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Certiorari ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fees ,
Form 720 ,
Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company ,
Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. ,
Insurance Industry ,
PCORI ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations
ERISA plan sponsors, and employers more broadly, have been anxiously awaiting two rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court that they hope would clarify the ability to enforce class action waivers in arbitration agreements....more
Editor's Overview - The importance of clear and unambiguous plan language cannot be overstated. The Second Circuit recently applied this well-established principle to conclude that a plan's administrative claims process must...more