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Benefits
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July 14, 2025
Judge Suggests Pruning Ex-Turner Sports Worker's Bias Suit
A Georgia federal magistrate judge said Monday that the court should trim a former Turner Sports human resources employee's lawsuit claiming she was denied severance benefits when she quit following the merger of Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia, saying the worker couldn't support allegations that an executive's statements caused her harm.
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July 14, 2025
Judge Says Med Device 401(k) Fee Suit Should Get A Trim
A Massachusetts federal magistrate judge recommended narrowing a proposed class action claiming a medical technology company saddled its retirement plan with excessive fees and abused forfeited funds, ruling the workers failed to show the business violated the plan's terms.
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July 14, 2025
Marriott Gets Worker's Wage Suit Tossed, For Now
A Washington federal judge reconsidered his prior decision sending a Marriott worker's wage and hour suit back to state court, agreeing with the hotel giant's argument that the amount in controversy is above $5 million, and dismissed the proposed class action while allowing the worker to update his claims.
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July 14, 2025
Ga. County Wants 11th Circ. To Nix Trans Deputy's Health Win
A Georgia county urged the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a transgender sheriff's deputy's trial court win on claims that denying coverage for a vaginoplasty constituted discrimination in violation of Title VII, arguing the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision upholding a Tennessee state ban on gender-affirming care for minors supported its appeal.
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July 14, 2025
Fla. Says High Court Rulings Back Trans Care Medicaid Ban
Florida told the Eleventh Circuit that recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings affirm the legality of a state law banning Medicaid payments for gender-affirming medical care, arguing its restrictions mirror a similar Tennessee law upheld by the justices because it centers on gender dysphoria diagnoses, not one's sex.
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July 14, 2025
Ex-Tech Worker Says Expenses Suit Shouldn't Be Arbitrated
A customer experience technology company can't force arbitration in a lawsuit alleging remote workers weren't reimbursed for internet service and computers they were mandated to purchase, an ex-employee told a Colorado federal court, arguing the company can't show that she and another worker signed valid arbitration agreements.
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July 14, 2025
Ex-NFL Player Asks 5th Circ. To Keep $1.86M Fee Award Intact
The National Football League's retirement plan had a chance to appeal a $1.86 million award of attorney fees to former running back Michael Cloud three years ago in his disability benefits suit, but it chose not to do so, Cloud told the Fifth Circuit in his pushback against the plan's latest appeal.
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July 14, 2025
Aetna, CVS Can't Dodge $21M Payment Battle, Lab Says
A Pennsylvania-based medical laboratory has told a Connecticut federal court its lawsuit against Aetna and its owner, CVS Health Corp., sufficiently accused the companies of failing to pay $20.6 million in invoices.
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July 11, 2025
VA Watchdog Says Burn Pit Claims Denials Still Had Errors
The Veterans Benefits Administration didn't do everything it was supposed to in order to fix concerns a federal watchdog had about veterans who were exposed to burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan having their benefits prematurely denied, the watchdog says.
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July 11, 2025
Courts Face Early Push To Expand Justices' Injunction Ruling
In the two weeks since the U.S. Supreme Court curtailed federal judges' ability to issue universal injunctions, Trump administration attorneys have begun pushing to expand the decision's limits to other forms of relief used in regulatory challenges and class actions. So far, judges don't appear receptive to those efforts.Â
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July 11, 2025
Hospitals Used Retirement Forfeitures For Self-Gain, Suit Says
A North Carolina hospital system cost workers millions in savings by using forfeited matched funds in its retirement plan to cover its own contribution obligations instead of reducing plan expenses paid by employees, according to a new proposed class action filed in federal court.
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July 11, 2025
Mo. Halts Paid Sick Leave, Cost-Of-Living Wage Increases
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe has signed a bill repealing paid sick leave benefits and yearly cost-of-living wage increases that were approved by state voters in a ballot initiative.
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July 11, 2025
AT&T Can't Escape Suit Over Pension Plan's Mortality Data
AT&T must face a proposed class action claiming it miscalculated married couples' pension benefits, a California federal judge ruled, saying workers leading the suit provided evidence that the telecommunications company's use of decades-old mortality data and interest rates was unreasonable.
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July 11, 2025
2 Firms Tapped To Lead Regeneron Investor Suit
Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP and Motley Rice LLC have been named lead counsel in a proposed securities class action accusing Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and its executives of misleading investors about its revenue prospects for its vision loss drug and inflating reimbursements.
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July 11, 2025
11th Circ. Won't Reinstate Worker's ERISA Arbitration Award
A divided Eleventh Circuit panel refused to restore a former water treatment company director's arbitration award of about $129,000 on claims that he should've been offered severance when demoted to a consultant, saying an arbitrator erroneously decided a federal benefits law claim the worker never raised.
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July 10, 2025
Univ. of Rochester Sued For 'Excessive' Retirement Plan Fees
The University of Rochester was hit with a proposed class action Wednesday in New York federal court over allegations it caused its $7.2 billion employee retirement program to pay millions in excessive administrative fees.
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July 10, 2025
2nd Circ. Won't Touch Morgan Stanley Deferred Comp Ruling
The Second Circuit refused to upend part of a lower court's ruling that former Morgan Stanley financial advisers' deferred compensation fell within the reach of federal benefits law, saying the financial firm couldn't clear the high bar necessary to undo the decision.
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July 10, 2025
DOL Urges 9th Circ. To OK Toss Of HP 401(k) Forfeiture Suit
The U.S. Department of Labor urged the Ninth Circuit to reject HP Inc. workers' bid to revive a proposed class action alleging forfeited employee 401(k) plan contributions were mismanaged, arguing a lower court properly tossed the case for failure to state a claim for violating federal benefits law.
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July 10, 2025
Stitch Fix Must Face Most Claims In Investor Action
A California federal judge has declined to toss a revised complaint alleging that Stitch Fix Inc. and two of its former executives deceived investors about the impact of a new business line, saying the suit adequately made the case that the defendants knowingly made misleading statements.
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July 10, 2025
Texas Judge Partially Voids DOL's ERISA Rollover Rule
A Texas federal judge partially invalidated an investment advice regulation from President Donald Trump's first administration involving employee retirement savings and rollover transactions, ruling the U.S. Department of Labor exceeded its authority when it handed down a new interpretation of federal benefits law.
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July 10, 2025
5 Employee Benefits Takeaways On The GOP Tax Bill
Congressional Republicans' sweeping tax and policy bill, which President Donald Trump sought and then signed, contains multiple provisions that caught the attention of employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys, including new changes to high-deductible health plans and an employer-side deduction limit affecting highly compensated employees. Here are five takeaways from employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys on what's in — and out of — the GOP megabill.
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July 09, 2025
Iowa Urges Judge Not To Block Law Regulating PBMs
The state of Iowa urged a federal judge Tuesday not to halt enforcement of state restrictions on pharmacy benefit managers that took effect earlier this month, arguing that most of the challenged law doesn't apply to the health plans and employers seeking to enjoin it.
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July 09, 2025
10th Circ. Backs Insurance Co. In Disabled Worker's Fee Fight
The Tenth Circuit declined to revive a disabled worker's suit claiming a life insurance company owed her attorney fees after she successfully challenged its decision to cancel her benefits, ruling that federal law doesn't allow her to sue for legal expenses if a benefit dispute doesn't go to court.
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July 09, 2025
Plan Administrator Seeks To Toss Union's Pension Error Suit
A benefit plan administration company said it shouldn't have to face a lawsuit claiming a union pension fund paid $2.4 million in interest because the administrator paid benefits on the wrong day of the month, arguing in Pennsylvania federal court that it wasn't acting as a fiduciary.
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July 09, 2025
Holland & Knight Insurer's COVID Benefits Denial Upheld
A Colorado federal judge on Wednesday handed an insurance company a win in a Holland & Knight LLP attorney's federal benefits lawsuit alleging she was wrongly denied long-term disability benefits after a COVID-19 infection left her unable to work, concluding substantial evidence supported the insurer's decision.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Communicating With Clients
Law school curricula often overlook client communication procedures, and those who actively teach this crucial facet of the practice can create exceptional client satisfaction and success, says Patrick Hanson at Wiggam Law.
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3 Judicial Approaches To Applying Loper Bright, 1 Year Later
In the year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chevron deference in its Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision, a few patterns have emerged in lower courts’ application of the precedent to determine whether agency actions are lawful, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From US Rep. To Boutique Firm
My transition from serving as a member of Congress to becoming a partner at a boutique firm has been remarkably smooth, in part because I never stopped exercising my legal muscles, maintained relationships with my former colleagues and set the right tone at the outset, says Mondaire Jones at Friedman Kaplan.
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Del. Ruling May Redefine Consideration In Noncompetes
The Delaware Court of Chancery's conclusion in North American Fire v. Doorly, that restrictive covenants tied to a forfeited equity award were unenforceable for lack of consideration, will surprise many employment practitioners, who should consider this new development when structuring equity-based agreements, say attorneys at Morrison Foerster.
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A Pattern Emerges In Justices' Evaluation Of Veteran Statute
The recent Soto v. U.S. decision that the statute of limitations for certain military-related claims does not apply to combat-related special compensation exemplifies the U.S. Supreme Court's view, emerging in two other recent opinions, that it is a reviewing court's obligation to determine the best interpretation of the language used by Congress, says attorney Kenneth Carpenter.
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Opinion
Senate's 41% Litigation Finance Tax Would Hurt Legal System
The Senate’s latest version of the Big Beautiful Bill Act would impose a 41% tax on the litigation finance industry, but the tax is totally disconnected from the concerns it purports to address, and it would set the country back to a time when small plaintiffs had little recourse against big defendants, says Anthony Sebok at Cardozo School of Law.
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Series
Performing As A Clown Makes Me A Better Lawyer
To say that being a clown in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade has changed my legal career would truly be an understatement — by creating an opening to converse on a unique topic, it has allowed me to connect with clients, counsel and even judges on a deeper level, says Charles Tatelbaum at Tripp Scott.
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9th Circ. Ruling Is Turning Point For Private Funds In 401(k)s
The Ninth Circuit's decision in Anderson v. Intel reinforces that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's duty of prudence permits fiduciaries to use private market assets in diversified funds, yet it also exposes the persistent litigation and regulatory uncertainties that continue to temper wider adoption in 401(k) plans, say attorneys at Debevoise.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Rejecting Biz Dev Myths
Law schools don’t spend sufficient time dispelling certain myths that prevent young lawyers from exploring new business opportunities, but by dismissing these misguided beliefs, even an introverted first-year associate with a small network of contacts can find long-term success, says Ronald Levine at Herrick Feinstein.
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Move Beyond Surface-Level Edits To Master Legal Writing
Recent instances in which attorneys filed briefs containing artificial intelligence hallucinations offer a stark reminder that effective revision isn’t just about superficial details like grammar — it requires attorneys to critically engage with their writing and analyze their rhetorical choices, says Ivy Grey at WordRake.
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9th Circ. Has Muddied Waters Of Article III Pleading Standard
District courts in the Ninth Circuit continue to apply a defunct and especially forgiving pleading standard to questions of Article III standing, and the circuit court itself has only perpetuated this confusion — making it an attractive forum for disputes that have no rightful place in federal court, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.
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Fla. Workers' Comp Ruling Ups Bar For Emotional Injury Suits
A Florida appellate court’s recent opinion in Steak 'N Shake v. Spears requires that employees solely claiming emotional distress seek workers’ compensation before suing their employers, closing a potential loophole and reducing the potential proliferation of such disputes in Florida courts, says Rob Rogers at Kirwin Norris.
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Series
Competing In Modern Pentathlon Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Opening myself up to new experiences through competing in modern Olympic pentathlon has shrunk the appearance of my daily work annoyances and helps me improve my patience, manage crises better and remember that acquiring new skills requires working through your early mistakes, says attorney Mary Zoldak.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Teaching Yourself Legal Tech
New graduates often enter practice unfamiliar with even basic professional software, but budding lawyers can use on-the-job opportunities to both catch up on technological skills and explore the advanced legal and artificial intelligence tools that will open doors, says Alyssa Sones at Sheppard Mullin.
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How AI May Reshape The Future Of Adjudication
As discussed at a recent panel at Texas A&M, artificial intelligence will not erase the human element of adjudication in the next 10 to 20 years, but it will drive efficiencies that spur private arbiters to experiment, lead public courts to evolve and force attorneys to adapt, says Christopher Seck at Squire Patton.