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Benefits
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April 03, 2025
Optum, Express Scripts Want Judge Ousted From Opioid MDL
Pharmacy benefit managers Optum and Express Scripts say the Ohio federal judge overseeing multidistrict opioid litigation should recuse himself because he "regularly communicates" with plaintiffs' attorneys in the litigation and is biased in favor of plaintiffs, according to a motion filed Wednesday.
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April 03, 2025
TV Star Dr. Oz Confirmed As New Medicare, Medicaid Leader
The U.S. Senate on Thursday voted 53 to 43, along party lines, to confirm former talk show host and surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz to be the next administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
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April 03, 2025
Home Depot Workers Must Pay $39K Costs In ERISA Suit
A Georgia federal judge has said Home Depot workers must pay more than $39,000 in legal fees to the home improvement retailer after the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a lower court's decision to end the Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit in Home Depot's favor in August.
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April 03, 2025
2nd Circ. Judge Thinks Drug Price Fight Sounds Like Antitrust
A Second Circuit judge on Thursday suggested that the federal government may be insulated from claims over its demand for lower prices for Medicare and Medicaid recipients, musing that Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s constitutional challenge to an Inflation Reduction Act provision sounds more like an antitrust allegation.
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April 03, 2025
7th Circ. Doubts SuperValu's Bid To Lower $22.5M Pension Bill
The Seventh Circuit appeared Thursday to lean against a grocery store's effort to lower its $22.5 million union pension bill, with multiple judges challenging the employer's argument that stores sold months before a complete fund withdrawal should be excluded from its annual payment calculation.
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April 03, 2025
'No Serious Question' Federal Firings Broke Law, Justices Told
Federal employee unions and advocacy groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to reject the Trump administration's bid to pause a California court order reinstating tens of thousands of probationary workers fired from six agencies, arguing the government can't escape self-inflicted harms brought on by its allegedly unlawful actions.
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April 03, 2025
Ex-Weil Atty To Co-Lead Sidley's Employee Benefits Team
Sidley Austin LLP said Wednesday that a former Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP partner will co-lead its employee benefits and executive compensation practice from New York.
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April 03, 2025
Jackson Walker Adds Chamberlain Hrdlicka Labor Duo In Texas
Jackson Walker LLP has strengthened the firm's labor and employment offerings with a pair of lawyers in Houston who came aboard from Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry.
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April 03, 2025
2nd Circ. Revives IBM Retirees' Mortality Data Fight
The Second Circuit on Thursday reopened a proposed class action accusing IBM of shorting retirees on pension payments by using outdated mortality data, saying the trial court should've sought clarity about certain documents before tossing the case.
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April 02, 2025
Northrop Retirees Can Pursue Some Claims Against Committee
A California federal judge trimmed, but refused to throw out, proposed class action claims two Northrop Grumman Corp. retirees lodged against their former employer's pension plan administrator, saying the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is unclear if their claims fall outside its statute of limitations.
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April 02, 2025
Sotomayor Seems Wary Of 'Magic Words' For Medicaid Rights
The U.S. Supreme Court's liberal bloc on Wednesday bristled at the notion that "magic words" were necessary to cement a public insurance program recipient's right to sue, suggesting that a private right of action is inherent in the Medicaid Act's provider choice provision.
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April 02, 2025
9th Circ. Gives Ex-CoreLogic Worker 2nd Shot At 401(k) Suit
The Ninth Circuit revived a suit Wednesday from a former CoreLogic worker who claimed the company stacked its retirement plan with costly and underperforming investment funds, ruling a district judge erred by tossing the case rather than giving the ex-worker a chance to revise his complaint.
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April 02, 2025
Amazon Worker Can't File Amended Military Leave Suit
It's too late for a former Amazon employee to add a claim that the company put up barriers for workers requesting active duty leave in her suit accusing the commerce giant of failing to fully provide the paid leave for service member employees, a New York federal judge ruled.
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April 02, 2025
'Ashamed' COVID Fraudster Asks To Keep Firefighter Pension
A former West Haven, Connecticut, municipal employee testified Wednesday that he is "ashamed" of stealing tens of thousands of dollars of COVID-19 relief money from the city, but he is asking a state court judge to prevent the attorney general's office from docking or revoking the pension that he separately earned as a New Haven firefighter.
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April 02, 2025
Cedars-Sinai To Pay $3M To End Retirement Plan Suit
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Inc. has agreed to pay $3 million to resolve a suit from current and former workers claiming the healthcare system loaded down its $2 billion retirement plan with high fees and poor-performing investment funds, according to a California federal court filing.
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April 01, 2025
Tesla Asks Del. Justices To Undo $176M Atty Fee 'Windfall'
Tesla urged the Delaware Supreme Court on Tuesday to slash a $176 million attorney fee award granted as part of an excessive director compensation suit settlement, saying it amounts to a "windfall in a case that settled well before trial and after three years of only tepid litigation."
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April 01, 2025
7th Circ. Revives Officer's Back Pay Bid In ADA Row
The Seventh Circuit reinstated Tuesday a former corrections officer's back pay request that was rejected by a lower court after a jury found the county sheriff he worked for violated disability bias law by subjecting him to an unnecessary medical exam, but didn't owe him any damages.
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April 01, 2025
Trump Admin Fights Wash.'s Bid To Expand Layoff Injunction
The Trump administration has urged a California federal judge to reject the state of Washington's request to expand an injunction blocking federal agencies from firing probationary employees, saying the bid to broaden the order to other agencies is unnecessary and based on unfounded speculation of harm.Â
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April 01, 2025
Tenn. PBM Statute Conflicts With ERISA, Judge Says
Tennessee law requiring pharmacy benefits managers to accept "any willing pharmacies" into their network clashes with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a federal judge ruled, saying the state can't enforce its statute against McKee Foods Corp. or other plans governed by the federal benefits law.
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April 01, 2025
Printing Company Wins Suit Over $265M ESOP Sale
An Illinois federal judge tossed a former printing company executive's suit claiming the business could have gotten a better price when selling its shares held in an employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, for $265 million, ruling his case lacks evidence of self-interest or sabotage.
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April 01, 2025
9th Circ. Urged To Keep Capital Group 401(k) Suit In Court
An employee retirement plan participant urged the Ninth Circuit to keep in court her proposed class action alleging 401(k) mismanagement by The Capital Group Cos., arguing a lower court correctly blocked an arbitration provision in the plan that waived statutory rights under federal benefits law.
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April 01, 2025
Former O'Hagan Meyer Partner Says Firm Owes Final Bonus
A former O'Hagan Meyer partner says the firm stiffed him out of a final $71,000 bonus upon his departure in 2022. He's seeking triple damages under Massachusetts' wage law.Â
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March 31, 2025
Lockheed Martin Can't Escape Retirees' 'De-Risking' Suit
Aerospace and defense giant Lockheed Martin can't shed former employees' allegations it mismanaged a $9 billion employee pension plan by using an allegedly risky annuity provider to handle the plan on behalf of 31,000 beneficiaries, a Maryland federal judge has determined.
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March 31, 2025
Alcoa Retirees, Unions Win Block On Health Benefits Cutoff
Aluminum producer Alcoa USA Corp. must provide lifetime healthcare benefits to a group of retirees who were represented by unions, an Indiana federal judge ruled, greenlighting an injunction that allows class members to retroactively seek payments for costs.
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March 31, 2025
Del. Legal Overhaul Won't Scuttle Key Rulings, Expert Says
A longtime expert on Delaware's general corporation law disputed on Monday predictions that a recently signed legislative overhaul will upend dozens of important precedents in the state.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Teaching Scuba Diving Makes Me A Better Lawyer
As a master scuba instructor, I’ve learned how to prepare for the unexpected, overcome fears and practice patience, and each of these skills – among the many others I’ve developed – has profoundly enhanced my work as a lawyer, says Ron Raether at Troutman Pepper.
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A Guide To Long-Term, Part-Time Employee Determinations
With final regulations under the Secure Act requiring 401(k) retirement benefits for long-term, part-time employees expected soon, Amy Sheridan and David Guadagnoli at Sullivan & Worcester look at how the proposed rules would shift the risk-reward calculus on excluding categories of employees, and what plan sponsors would need to consider when designing retirement plans.
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Lawyers Can Take Action To Honor The Voting Rights Act
As the Voting Rights Act reaches its 59th anniversary Tuesday, it must urgently be reinforced against recent efforts to dismantle voter protections, and lawyers can pitch in immediately by volunteering and taking on pro bono work to directly help safeguard the right to vote, says Anna Chu at We The Action.
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Series
After Chevron: ERISA Challenges To Watch
The end of Chevron deference makes the outcome of Employee Retirement Income Security Act regulatory challenges more uncertain as courts become final arbiters of pending lawsuits about ESG investments, the definition of a fiduciary, unallocated pension forfeitures and discrimination in healthcare plans, says Evelyn Haralampu at Burns & Levinson.
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Justices' Intent Witness Ruling May Be Useful For Defense Bar
At first glance, the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Diaz v. U.S. decision, allowing experts to testify to the mental state of criminal defendants in federal court, gives prosecutors a new tool, but creative white collar defense counsel may be able to use the same tool to their own advantage, say Jack Sharman and Rachel Bragg at Lightfoot Franklin.
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How To Grow Marketing, Biz Dev Teams In A Tight Market
Faced with fierce competition and rising operating costs, firms are feeling the pressure to build a well-oiled marketing and business development team that supports strategic priorities, but they’ll need to be flexible and creative given a tight talent market, says Ben Curle at Ambition.
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Why Calif. Courts Are Split On ERISA Forfeited Contributions
A split between two California federal courts, in deciding whether an employer’s use of forfeited retirement plan contributions to offset future costs violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, suggests employers should soon expect more ERISA cases to advance this novel legal theory when making anti-inurement and breach of fiduciary duty claims, says Blake Crohan at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Rock Climbing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Rock climbing requires problem-solving, focus, risk management and resilience, skills that are also invaluable assets in my role as a finance lawyer, says Mei Zhang at Haynes and Boone.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Dance The Legal Standard Two-Step
From rookie brief writers to Chief Justice John Roberts, lawyers should master the legal standard two-step — framing the governing standard at the outset, and clarifying why they meet that standard — which has benefits for both the drafter and reader, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Series
Being A Luthier Makes Me A Better Lawyer
When I’m not working as an appellate lawyer, I spend my spare time building guitars — a craft known as luthiery — which has helped to enhance the discipline, patience and resilience needed to write better briefs, says Rob Carty at Nichols Brar.
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Lead Like 'Ted Lasso' By Embracing Cognitive Diversity
The Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” aptly illustrates how embracing cognitive diversity can be a winning strategy for teams, providing a useful lesson for law firms, which can benefit significantly from fresh, diverse perspectives and collaborative problem-solving, says Paul Manuele at PR Manuele Consulting.
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American Airlines ESG Ruling Could Alter ERISA Landscape
The Spence v. American Airlines ESG trial, speeding toward a conclusion in a Texas federal court, could foretell a dramatic expansion in ERISA liability, with plan sponsors vulnerable to claims that they didn't foresee short-term dips in stock prices, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.
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Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons
In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.
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How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance
Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.
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Dueling Calif. Rulings Offer Insight On 401(k) Forfeiture Suits
Two recent decisions from California federal courts regarding novel Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims around 401(k) forfeitures provide early tea leaves for companies that may face similar litigation, offering reasons for both optimism and concern over the future direction of the law, say Ashley Johnson and Jennafer Tryck at Gibson Dunn.