Ƶ

Benefits

  • July 25, 2025

    Ex-Whataburger Worker Drops 5th Circ. Appeal In 401(k) Suit

    A former employee of Whataburger dropped his Fifth Circuit bid to revive a proposed class action alleging mismanagement of an employee 401(k) plan Friday following a Texas federal court's decision tossing the case in November.

  • July 25, 2025

    Nordstrom Tobacco Health Fee Violates ERISA, Ex-Staff Say

    Three ex-workers for Nordstrom Inc. hit the retailer with a proposed class action in Washington federal court, alleging a $40-a-month surcharge on the health plans of tobacco-using employees was discriminatory in violation of federal benefits law.

  • July 25, 2025

    What To Watch As Attys Brace For 401(k) Private Equity Order

    Benefits and asset management attorneys are anticipating an executive order from President Donald Trump aimed at expanding access to private equity investments in 401(k) plans, a potential move that's stoking excitement about added investment options and concerns about legal risks. Here are four things on experts' minds as they wait to see if the order materializes.

  • July 24, 2025

    Glass Lewis Sues Texas Over Proxy Advisory Restrictions Law

    Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. LLC sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday over a recently passed state law that it argues requires the firm to "publicly condemn itself" when its advice for clients reflects certain viewpoints the government disfavors.

  • July 24, 2025

    Hospital Must Face Claims Of Mismanaging Retirement Funds

    A Colorado federal judge on Thursday said a proposed class action will continue against a hospital over allegations of mismanaging employees' retirement funds after an amended complaint added new allegations about the fund's mismanagement.

  • July 24, 2025

    Lincoln National Beats Investor Suit Over $2.6B Loss, For Now

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Thursday tossed with leave to amend a proposed securities class action alleging that Lincoln National Corp. misled investors about its financial health before reporting a $2.6 billion net loss in 2022, finding that the investors didn't specify when Lincoln National had access to certain data and studies.

  • July 24, 2025

    Boeing Hit With Disability Bias Suit Over Bonus Exclusion

    Boeing employees on long-term disability leave missed out on a $12,000 bonus distributed after workers ratified a union contract in September, a new proposed class action alleges, claiming that limits on who qualified for the bonus violated Washington state discrimination law.

  • July 24, 2025

    Raytheon Must Face Ex-Worker's Trimmed Severance Fight

    A Massachusetts federal judge agreed to trim claims against Raytheon in a former employee's dispute over severance benefits, concluding claims of benefits retaliation failed to state a claim but that wrongful denial of benefits and fiduciary breach claims could proceed to discovery.

  • July 24, 2025

    DOL Relaunches Employer Self-Audit FLSA Program

    The U.S. Department of Labor relaunched an employer self-audit program Thursday that supports employers that seek to resolve potential wage violations and avoid litigation — an initiative from the first Trump administration that was popular among employers.

  • July 24, 2025

    Seyfarth Shaw Employment Atty Jumps To Akerman In LA

    Akerman LLP is boosting its employment team, bringing in a Seyfarth Shaw LLP class action litigator as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • July 23, 2025

    Pa. Justices Will Weigh Rollover For Other States' Pensions

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh whether a teacher's years of service in another state can count toward her Pennsylvania retirement benefits after she had already cashed out her retirement account from her previous state.

  • July 23, 2025

    Siemens Energy Failed To Cut Shoddy 401(k) Fund, Suit Says

    A Siemens Energy employee said the company cost workers millions in retirement savings by failing to trim an underperforming fund from its $3 billion retirement plan and by using forfeited funds to pay for its match obligations instead of plan fees, according to his Texas federal suit.

  • July 23, 2025

    Symbria Workers' $5.9M ESOP Deal Gets Ill. Judge's Final OK

    An Illinois federal judge gave his final blessing Tuesday to a $5.9 million settlement between Argent Trust Co. and a group of Symbria Inc. employees who accused the company of mismanaging their employee stock ownership plan.

  • July 23, 2025

    NJ Comptroller Flags $34M Hole, Targets Lifeguard Pensions

    The New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller recommended Wednesday that the state legislature scrap a law mandating a handful of shore towns provide pensions to lifeguards after it found some municipalities underfunded the plans and face deficits of more than $34 million.

  • July 23, 2025

    Abraham Watkins, Partners Move To Toss Atty's Firing Suit

    A prominent Texas personal injury firm and three of its partners have moved to dismiss a wrongful termination suit brought by a former associate who says she was discriminated against for taking medical leave related to an eye condition.

  • July 23, 2025

    Lockheed Cleared To Seek 4th Circ. Review In Annuity Fight

    A Maryland federal judge cleared Lockheed Martin to immediately appeal his decision declining to dismiss a suit claiming the company shirked federal benefits law by pushing $9 billion in pension funds into risky annuities, ruling the case's standing questions are fit for Fourth Circuit review.

  • July 22, 2025

    EQT Investors' $167.5M Deal To End Merger Suit Gets 1st OK

    Investors in energy company EQT Corp. have gotten an initial green light for their $167.5 million settlement to end claims the company overstated the benefits of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Energy, drawing what's purported to be the largest shareholder settlement in the Western District of Pennsylvania closer to a close.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-Bank Worker's 401(k) Suit Must Be Arbitrated, 5th Circ. Told

    A Laredo, Texas-based bank told the Fifth Circuit Monday that a former worker should be forced to arbitrate a proposed class action claiming the company failed to prudently invest employee retirement funds, even though the provision was added after his employment ended.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ohio Justices Accept AG's Bid To Limit Care For Trans Youths

    The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to review an appeals court's finding that portions of a state law restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youths are unconstitutional. 

  • July 22, 2025

    Employers, Plans Force Freeze Of Iowa's PBM Law

    A federal judge slapped a temporary hold on parts of an Iowa law that aims to limit pharmacy benefit managers' power to set drug prices, ruling that provisions barring discrimination against certain pharmacies and pushing cost-saving strategies are preempted by federal benefits law.

  • July 22, 2025

    House Panel Knocks EBSA Sharing Info With Workers' Attys

    House lawmakers on Tuesday criticized the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits subagency for sharing information from enforcement investigations with plaintiffs attorneys representing benefit plan participants, with some lawmakers calling on Congress to pass new legislation to curb the practice.

  • July 22, 2025

    Final OK Sought On Energy Co.'s $8.2M 401(k) Suit Deal

    A class of employees who participated in a Pennsylvania energy company's retirement plan have asked a federal judge to give final approval to an $8.2 million settlement resolving claims that the employees' 401(k) plans were mismanaged.

  • July 22, 2025

    Old Dominion Inks $1.9M Deal To End 401(k) Fee Suit

    Old Dominion Freight Line has pledged to pay $1.9 million to settle Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation claiming the trucking company failed to keep its 401(k) plan's fees low, a group of workers requesting approval of the settlement told a North Carolina federal judge.

  • July 21, 2025

    Neogen Faces Investor Suit Over 3M Integration Challenges

    Food and animal safety company Neogen Corp. and two of its executives face a proposed investor class action alleging they kept shareholders in the dark about integration struggles after a merger with a division of manufacturing giant 3M.

  • July 21, 2025

    Skechers Investor Loses Initial Bid To Block Take-Private Deal

    A California federal judge has refused to preliminarily block private equity firm 3G Capital from taking footwear giant Skechers private for $9.4 billion, finding that a pension plan that owns Skechers shares failed to show it would be irreparably harmed without the injunction.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices Likely To Stay In ERISA's Bounds On Pleadings

    Author Photo

    The arguments in Cunningham v. Cornell showed the U.S. Supreme Court's willingness to resolve a circuit split regarding Employee Retirement Income Security Act pleading standards by staying within ERISA's confines, while instructing courts regarding what must be pled to survive a motion to dismiss, says Ryan Curtis at Fennemore Craig.

  • Series

    Adventure Photography Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Photographing nature everywhere from Siberia to Cuba and Iceland to Rwanda provides me with a constant reminder to refresh, refocus and rethink the legal issues that my clients face, says Richard Birmingham at Davis Wright.

  • 5 Ways To Create Effective Mock Assignments For Associates

    Author Photo

    In order to effectively develop associates’ critical thinking skills, firms should design mock assignments that contain a few key ingredients, from messy fact patterns to actionable feedback, says Abdi Shayesteh at AltaClaro.

  • 8 Lessons Yellow Corp. Layoffs Can Teach Distressed Cos.

    Author Photo

    A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent decision, examining trucking company Yellow Corp.’s abrupt termination of roughly 25,500 employees, offers financially distressed businesses a road map for navigating layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • Mentorship Resolutions For The New Year

    Author Photo

    Attorneys tend to focus on personal achievements or career milestones when they set yearly goals, but one important area often gets overlooked in this process — mentoring relationships, which are some of the most effective tools for professional growth, say Kelly Galligan at Rutan & Tucker and Andra Greene at Phillips ADR.

  • Series

    Coaching Little League Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    While coaching poorly played Little League Baseball early in the morning doesn't sound like a good time, I love it — and the experience has taught me valuable lessons about imperfection, compassion and acceptance that have helped me grow as a person and as a lawyer, says Alex Barnett at DiCello Levitt.

  • 5 Litigation Funding Trends To Note In 2025

    Author Photo

    Lawyers and their clients must be prepared to navigate an evolving litigation funding market in 2025, made more complicated by a new administration and the increasing overall cost of litigation, says Jeffery Lula at GLS Capital.

  • Rethinking Litigation Risk And What It Really Means To Win

    Author Photo

    Attorneys have a tendency to overestimate litigation risk before summary judgment and underestimate risk after it, but an eight-stage litigation framework can clarify risk at different points and help litigators reassess what true success looks like in any particular case, says Joshua Libling at Arcadia Finance.

  • Issues To Watch In 2025's ERISA Litigation Landscape

    Author Photo

    Whether 2024’s uptick in new Employee Retirement Income Security Act cases will continue this year will likely depend on federal courts’ resolution of several issues, including those related to excessive fees, defined contribution plan forfeitures, and pleading standards for ERISA-prohibited transaction claims, say attorneys at Groom Law.

  • Justices Could Stitch Up ERISA Circuit Split With Cornell Case

    Author Photo

    In Cunningham v. Cornell, scheduled for oral arguments next week, the U.S. Supreme Court has the opportunity to provide uniform pleading standards for Section 1106(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the lack of which has vexed circuit courts and benefits counsel for years, says Scott Tippett at Offit Kurman.

  • Series

    Playing Rugby Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    My experience playing rugby, including a near-fatal accident, has influenced my legal practice on a professional, organizational and personal level by showing me the importance of maintaining empathy, fostering team empowerment and embracing the art of preparation, says James Gillenwater at Greenberg Traurig.

  • Opinion

    No, Litigation Funders Are Not 'Fleeing' The District Of Del.

    Author Photo

    A recent study claimed that litigation funders have “fled” Delaware federal court due to a standing order requiring disclosure of third-party financing, but responsible funders have no problem litigating in this jurisdiction, and many other factors could explain the decline in filings, say Will Freeman and Sarah Tsou at Omni Bridgeway.

  • 5 E-Discovery Predictions For 2025 And Beyond

    Author Photo

    In the year to come, e-discovery will be shaped by new and emerging trends, from the adoption of artificial intelligence provisions in protective orders, to the proliferation of emojis as a source of evidence in contemporary litigation, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

    Author Photo

    President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

    Author Photo

    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Benefits archive.