In a widely awaited for decision, the Supreme Court in a 6-3 opinion authored by Justice Roberts held that a Tennessee law which prohibits certain medical treatments (puberty blockers and hormones) for transgender minors,...more
6/19/2025
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Judicial Authority ,
LGBTQ ,
Minor Children ,
Patient Access ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
State Legislatures ,
Tennessee ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
United States v Skrmetti
In a unanimous decision reversing dismissal of prohibited transaction claims based on fees paid to defined contribution plan recordkeepers, the Supreme Court held that ERISA’s prohibited transaction exemptions are affirmative...more
4/18/2025
/ Appeals ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Cunningham v Cornell University ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS
In a move with potentially significant implications for entities subject to the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reversed course and now contends that Section 1557 of the Affordable...more
3/13/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Dysphoria ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
LGBTQ ,
New Guidance ,
Patient Access ,
Rehabilitation Act ,
Section 1557 ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Following through on a campaign theme focused on transgender issues and access to gender-affirming health care, on Friday, January 28, President Trump signed an Executive Order, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and...more
2/12/2025
/ Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Access ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Insurance Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Patient Access ,
Section 1557 ,
Transgender
The Trump Administration’s new Executive Order on “gender ideology extremism” signals a dramatic shift in federal policy that will impact workplace policies, benefits, and compliance obligations relating to transgender...more
1/22/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Labor Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
The landscape of transgender employment laws is evolving globally, with various jurisdictions adopting laws that ensure inclusivity and non-discrimination in the workplace. This area is one of the most complex issues in...more
12/17/2024
/ Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
International Labor Laws ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Transgender
The Second Circuit recently ruled that an ERISA plan’s arbitration provision was not enforceable because the provision barred plan-wide relief. Cedeno v. Sasson, 2024 WL 1895053 (2d Cir. May 1, 2024). The Court decision...more
The first complaint was filed in what is expected to be a wave of litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty in selecting and monitoring welfare plan vendors. While the facts of this particular case may make it somewhat...more
2/26/2024
/ 401k ,
Breach of Duty ,
Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) ,
Drug Pricing ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance ,
Johnson & Johnson ,
Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent district court decision highlights the continued uncertainties about what it means to include an arbitration clause in an ERISA plan. While courts generally agree that such clauses are, in theory,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC published guidance to provide clarity on its interpretation of Title VII protections for LGBTQ+ employees in the wake of the landmark case Bostock v. Clayton County, GA. A recent decision by a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: To promote healthier lifestyles in an effort to ultimately reduce the cost of health care in the United States, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires private health plans to provide first dollar coverage...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As more employers announce that they cover travel benefits under their medical plans that will allow participants to be reimbursed for certain travel expenses necessary in order to access otherwise covered...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recognizing that the Plan contained an unambiguous arbitration provision, and that “ERISA claims are generally arbitrable,” the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals nonetheless found that arbitration could not...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The narrow but unanimous ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia does little to clarify for employers the tensions between religious liberties and LGBTQIA anti-discrimination rights....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A Federal Court has temporarily enjoined the Trump administration from putting into effect its recent rule that strips the Affordable Care Act of its gender identity protections....more
8/20/2020
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Covered Entities ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Final Rules ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Section 1557 ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent 10th Circuit decision holding that in order for the abuse of discretion standard to apply in litigation the claims administrator must provide participants with actual notice of discretionary...more
8/10/2020
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Claim Procedures ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Disability Benefits ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Judicial Review ,
Notice Requirements ,
Plan Administrators ,
Standard of Review
For decades, courts and practitioners have struggled with whether federal law protects employees against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Yesterday, in a landmark 6-3 decision authored by...more
6/16/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In an unpublished decision dated May 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit held that a plan administrator abused its discretion by denying surviving spouse benefits under an ERISA retirement benefit plan to a participant’s domestic...more
6/7/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Annuities ,
DOMA ,
Domestic Partnership ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Life Insurance ,
Plan Administrators ,
Remand ,
Surviving Spouse ,
Survivor Benefits
Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted review to a trio of Title VII cases raising the issue of whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Court’s...more
4/23/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Certiorari ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
This is the one hundred and nineteenth issue in our series of alerts for employers on selected topics on health care reform. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent case from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania reaffirms the basic principle that a threshold element of any ERISA claim is pleading the existence of an ERISA plan....more
The Fourth Circuit found in favor of an insurer on a claim for life insurance benefits, finding the insured’s failure to submit the required evidence of insurability was not excused by his employer having wrongly deducted...more
6/20/2018
/ Breach of Duty ,
Breach of Trust ,
Discovery ,
Eligibility ,
Employee Benefits ,
Evidence of Insurability (EIF) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Insurance Claims ,
Life Insurance ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Summary Judgment
In a largely symbolic ruling, in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a cake shop owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his...more
6/7/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
LGBTQ ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Private Sector ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a win for ERISA plan and claims administrators, the Third Circuit has affirmed the broad enforcement of a long-term disability plan’s mental or nervous limitation period....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In landmark decision, the Second Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit in holding that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as a subset of sex discrimination....more