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Fiduciary Duty Employer Liability Issues Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Verrill

Preparing for “Untoward Practical Results”—Implications and Action Items for ERISA Attorneys Following Cunningham v. Cornell...

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision Cunningham v. Cornell University, 145 S.Ct. 1020 (2025) significantly lowers the pleading standard for prohibited transaction claims under Section 406(a) of the Employee Retirement...more

Hall Benefits Law

PBM Contracts Could Expose Plan Sponsors to Fiduciary Liability

Hall Benefits Law on

A plan sponsor’s fiduciary duty to be transparent in Pharmacy Benefit Manager contracts safeguards plan participants’ interests and mitigates the risk of litigation, regulatory penalties, and reputational harm, say Hall...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Withdrawal Liability Collection Scope Expanded

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Takeaway Related Links Article The Third Circuit’s recent ruling enhanced a pension fund’s ability to pursue withdrawal liability collection against affiliated employers. The decision underscores the evolving nature of ERISA,...more

A&O Shearman

Supreme Court’s Cornell decision sets low pleading bar for ERISA claims

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In a decision poised to change the landscape of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) litigation, on April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court held in Cunningham et al. v. Cornell University et al. that a claimant...more

Maynard Nexsen

JPMorgan Sued Over Management of Prescription Drug Benefits

Maynard Nexsen on

On March 13, 2025, several current and former participants in the JPMorgan Chase Health Care and Insurance Program for Active Employees, as well as its component Medical Plan (collectively referred to as the “Plan”) filed a...more

Verrill

Does ERISA Work?

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On Labor Day, September 2, 1974, Gerald Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) into law. ERISA governs the employee benefit plans (i.e., retirement and welfare plans) of most private employers in...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Excessive Fee Cases: Not Just for Retirement Plans Anymore

Holland & Knight LLP on

A recent wave of cases has attempted to apply the theory of liability for retirement plan excessive fee cases to health plans – specifically, arrangements with pharmacy benefit managers. Though the cases thus far have...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Clorox forfeiture case goes forward

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has decided not to dismiss a class action lawsuit against The Clorox Company and the employee benefits committee of The Clorox Company 401(k) Plan. The lawsuit...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Things I Worry About (8): DOL Investigations and Unsuspecting Plan Sponsors (2)

As explained in my last post, Things I Worry About (7), the DOL’s EBSA has a number of programs that can restore benefits to plans and participants. Those include: - Civil investigations. - Criminal investigations. -...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

BREAKING: DOL Expands the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published in the Federal Register an updated version of the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP) under Title I of ERISA. Per the DOL, VFCP “is designed to encourage...more

Lowenstein Sandler LLP

The Advantages and Requirements for Severance Plans Subject to ERISA

Lowenstein Sandler LLP on

This episode of “Just Compensation” features Andrew E. Graw, Megan Monson, and Jessica I. Kriegsfeld of Lowenstein Sandler's Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits group discuss when severance plans will be subject to...more

Verrill

Department of Labor Launches Retirement Savings Lost and Found

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The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 added new Section 523 to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), requiring the Department of Labor (the “Department”) to establish an online database called the Retirement...more

Fisher Phillips

Rising ERISA Class-Action Lawsuits Over Tobacco Surcharges in Health Plans: What Employers Need to Know + 6 Steps to Stay...

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A wave of ERISA class-action lawsuits is challenging tobacco surcharge programs in employer-sponsored health plans across the U.S. These cases center on potential fiduciary breaches, with plaintiffs arguing that surcharges...more

JAMS

Recent Developments in the Enforcement of ERISA Class Action Waiver and Arbitration Clauses

JAMS on

In recent months, various federal district and circuit courts have considered the enforceability of language in employer-sponsored retirement and welfare plans requiring that participants arbitrate their claims for breach of...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - October 2024

The October Monthly Minute highlights two recent retirement plan cases, one in which the court sides with the plan and emphasizes plan administrative review over specific investment results and another where plaintiffs are...more

Verrill

Final Mental Health Parity Rule Spells Compliance Changes

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The long-anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was published on September 9, 2024. The MHPAEA prohibits group health plans that provide mental health and substance use...more

Mintz - Energy & Sustainability Viewpoints

Energy & Sustainability Litigation Updates — July 2024

On June 4, 2024, a number of Congressional Democrats (10 Senators; 28 Congressmen) sent a letter to SEC Chairman Gensler, urging that the SEC “enforce existing SEC climate disclosure-related guidance” while the legal...more

Stinson - Benefits Notes Blog

DOL Settlements Remind Employers to Avoid Collecting Premiums Until Evidence of Insurability is Approved

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced two settlements with major insurance companies this month that highlight the importance of employers avoiding the collection of group life insurance premiums from employees until...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

Impact on ERISA Regulation if Supreme Court Throws Chevron Deference Overboard

The US Supreme Court heard arguments on January 17 in Relentless v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. In both cases, a commercial herring fishing company challenged a regulatory requirement that...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Unicorn, Ostrich or Okapi? Fiduciary Duties for Governmental Retirement Plan Sponsors

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Most retirement plan sponsors know that ERISA - the federal law that imposes duties (and liability for breaching those duties) on certain individuals and entities that are defined as plan fiduciaries – is the primary source...more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Special Report - Funding Employer-Sponsored Group Health Coverage: The Group Captive Solution - November 2023

McDermott Will & Schulte on

Employer-sponsored health insurance covers almost 159 million non-elderly US workers and their dependents, and employees and jobseekers alike view group health coverage as the single most important non-cash job-related...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Forfeitures Account - The Next New Topic of ERISA Litigation Trends & Should You Be Concerned?

Bricker Graydon LLP on

A handful of new ERISA litigation cases (including McManus v. Clorox Co., N.D Cal. No. 4:23-cv-05325) are taking aim at forfeiture accounts and trying to pull them into the never-ending list of ways in which retirement plan...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Another 401(k) Plan Fiduciary Defeats Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims at Trial

Following a bench trial in a Pennsylvania federal district court in Nunez v. B. Braun Medical, Inc., 401(k) plan fiduciaries defeated a lawsuit alleging that the fiduciaries imprudently managed and paid excessive...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Fidelity Bonds v. Fiduciary Insurance - Do You Know the Difference?

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As you may be aware, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) fidelity bonds and fiduciary liability insurance are not the same. Both serve to mitigate risk for fiduciaries, and are critical aspects of an employee...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

DOL Continues Active ERISA Enforcement and Focus on Cybersecurity Including Health and Welfare Plans

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the US Department of Labor (DOL) has continued to be active in civil and criminal enforcement investigations of ERISA’s fiduciary duties. This blog post details two...more

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