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Benefits
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October 11, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Deem Bus Driver's Migraines FMLA-Eligible
A Pennsylvania public transit employee didn't have the requisite "serious health condition" to back his workplace retaliation claims under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, the Third Circuit ruled Friday, declining to reinstate a trial victory for the bus driver.
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October 11, 2024
Texas Hospital Settles Layoffs, Benefits Contributions Suit
A Texas hospital has agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging it laid off approximately one-third of its workforce without warning and unlawfully held onto employees' health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions, according to a federal court filing.
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October 10, 2024
Northern Trust Strikes Deal To End 401(k) Management Suit
The Northern Trust Co. has agreed to settle a proposed class action claiming the financial services company weighed down its 401(k) plan with underperforming proprietary fund options, according to filings in Illinois federal court Thursday.
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October 10, 2024
Twitter Judge Seeks More Info On Cert. Bid In Layoff Fight
A California federal judge declined to rule Thursday on a request to certify a class of 115 ex-Twitter workers who claim they were booted without proper notice after Elon Musk acquired the company, saying he wanted more information after learning that most signed arbitration agreements.
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October 10, 2024
Chancery OKs $125M Deal, Fees In Discovery Merger Suit
Declaring it "a great settlement," a Delaware vice chancellor approved on Thursday a near chart-topping, $125 million deal to end stockholder challenges to Discovery Inc.'s $43 billion merger with AT&T in 2022, an amount eclipsed only by a $148.2 million pretrial deal in a 2016 case.
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October 10, 2024
Cigna Says NJ Plastic Surgeons Fraudulently Billed $8.5M
Two Cigna units said a New Jersey-based plastic and reconstructive surgery group billed excessively high fees and then waived patient cost-shares, fraudulently obtaining just over $8.5 million from the insurer in a scheme that dates back nearly a decade.
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October 10, 2024
CommScope Settles Ex-VP's Severance Benefits Suit
Wireless network provider CommScope Holding Co. has settled a former vice president's wrongful termination and denial of benefits suit alleging he was terminated over poor performance allegations fabricated by a supervisor who saw him as competition for a higher role in the company.
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October 10, 2024
SeaWorld Wraps Up Suit Over COVID Severance Pay
SeaWorld has inked settlements with two employees to resolve a California federal court suit claiming the business ignored its policies by failing to pay employees severance when they were furloughed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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October 10, 2024
Ex-Citibank VP Says Bank Fired Her For Taking Parental Leave
A former Citibank senior vice president and head of the bank's fair employment practices said Thursday she lost her job after becoming pregnant and suffering from pregnancy-related complications, accusing Citibank of discrimination.
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October 10, 2024
Fiduciary Co. Asks Justices To Weigh ERISA Arbitration Denial
A fiduciary services provider urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit's decision blocking arbitration in a proposed class action alleging a debt relief company overcharged an employee stock ownership plan, arguing the ruling demonstrated a "judicial hostility" to arbitration that justices have warned against.
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October 10, 2024
Ex-NBA Pro Seeks Leniency In Health Fraud Sentencing
A former NBA player who pled guilty to his role in a scheme to defraud the league's healthcare plan and became a government witness has asked a Manhattan federal judge to be sentenced "as leniently as possible" and to only be assessed a $100 fine.
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October 09, 2024
Boeing Rescinds Wage Offer As IAM Strike Enters 4th Week
Boeing has withdrawn its most recent wage offer to more than 33,000 employees who've been on strike for nearly a month, prolonging a labor standoff with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that has grounded some of Boeing's key production lines to a halt.
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October 09, 2024
Insurer Wins Ex-PwC Exec's Long-Term Disability Suit
An Illinois federal judge handed Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Co. a win in a federal benefits lawsuit from a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP executive who alleged she was wrongly denied long-term disability benefits after fibromyalgia left her unable to continue working.
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October 09, 2024
Electronics Co. Hid Auto Segment Slump, Investor Claims
Electronic equipment manufacturing company Methode Electronics has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it concealed the full extent of sagging sales in its automotive division, in which General Motors was a top client.
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October 09, 2024
Mich. Justices Open To Atty Fee Bid In Legal Malpractice Case
The Michigan Supreme Court appeared receptive Wednesday to arguments from a lab-grown orchid company that it should be allowed to recover attorney fees incurred in an employment lawsuit the company claimed resulted from legal malpractice.
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October 09, 2024
Fla. University Inks $1.5M Deal In 401(k) Mismanagement Suit
A Florida university struck a $1.5 million deal with a class of employees that claimed the school weighed down its $400 million retirement plan with excessive recordkeeping fees and shoddy investment funds.
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October 08, 2024
Judge Tells VA To Quickly Develop Housing For LA Veterans
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and experts picked by a class of homeless, disabled military veterans were ordered by a California federal judge to collaborate on plans for veteran housing on a Los Angeles campus.
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October 08, 2024
Student Loan Cos. Settle Ex-Exec's Severance Dispute
Student loan companies Navient Corp. and Earnest LLC told the Ninth Circuit they had reached a settlement to end a former executive's lawsuit alleging he was wrongly denied severance benefits, just days before a dual-sided appeal in the case was set for panel arguments on Thursday.
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October 08, 2024
Airlines Say Chicago Sick Leave Law Would Impact Business
An organization representing the largest U.S. airlines urged an Illinois federal court to keep afloat its challenge to Chicago's new paid sick leave law, saying its claims that the statute would impact flight prices and routes are fact-intensive and should proceed to discovery.
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October 08, 2024
1st Circ. Eyes Revival Of Welch's Execs' Pension Fight
The First Circuit appeared receptive Tuesday to former Welch's executives who are seeking to revive a suit claiming they were shortchanged by a supplemental retirement plan, with two judges pointing out conflict-of-interest disputes on appeal that the lower court left unaddressed.
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October 08, 2024
Willkie Adds Faegre ERISA Litigation Co-Head With Duo Hire
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP is expanding its Midwest team, announcing Tuesday it is bringing in a Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigator and a Chapman and Cutler LLP finance expert as partners in its Chicago office.
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October 08, 2024
Colo. Freed From Union Protest Of Southwest Sick Leave Deal
Colorado isn't on the hook for claims by a union representing Southwest Airlines flight attendants related to a settlement between the state and airline about a sick leave law, a state court judge ruled, finding the union lacks standing to raise its allegations.
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October 07, 2024
Pepsi Employee Sues Over Health Plan's 'Tobacco Surcharge'
A Pepsi employee has hauled the snack and beverage multinational into New York federal court, alleging in a proposed class action that the company unlawfully imposes a "tobacco surcharge" on employees who use tobacco products while failing to adequately notify employees that they can instead join a company wellness program.
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October 07, 2024
High Court Doubts States Can Police Federal Rights Claims
The U.S. Supreme Court seemed poised Monday to strike down an Alabama law requiring litigants to exhaust state administrative remedies before they file claims in state court accusing local officials of violating federal rights, with several justices suggesting the court already answered that question almost 40 years ago.
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October 07, 2024
7th Circ. Revives Wage Claim In Sales Rep's Bonus Suit
A sales associate adequately showed that he and the technology and consulting company employing him had an agreement under which he would receive a bonus after meeting a sales target, the Seventh Circuit ruled, sending his wage claim back to Illinois federal court.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
DOL's Impending Mental Health Act Regs Should Be Simplified
The U.S. Department of Labor should consider revising these six issues in its forthcoming Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act regulations to ease the significant compliance hurdles for group health plan sponsors, says Alden Bianchi at McDermott.
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Opinion
Texas Judges Ignored ERISA's Core To Stall Fiduciary Rule
Two recent rulings from Texas federal courts, which rely on a plainly wrong reading of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to effectively strike a forthcoming rule that would impose functional fiduciary duties onto sellers of investment services, may expose financially unsophisticated 401(k) participants to peddlers of misleading advice, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.
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Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Is My Counterclaim Bound To Fall?
A Pennsylvania federal court’s recent dismissal of the defendants’ counterclaims in Morgan v. Noss should remind attorneys to avoid the temptation to repackage a claim’s facts and law into a mirror-image counterclaim, as this approach will often result in a waste of time and resources, says Matthew Selmasska at Kaufman Dolowich.
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Series
Playing Dungeons & Dragons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Playing Dungeons & Dragons – a tabletop role-playing game – helped pave the way for my legal career by providing me with foundational skills such as persuasion and team building, says Derrick Carman at Robins Kaplan.
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Del. Dispatch: Director Caremark Claims Need Extreme Facts
The Delaware Court of Chancery recently dismissed Caremark claims against the directors of Centene in Bricklayers Pension Fund of Western Pennsylvania v. Brinkley, indicating a high bar for a finding of the required element of bad faith for Caremark liability, and stressing the need to resist hindsight bias, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
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Parsing NJ Court's Rationale For Denying Lipitor Class Cert.
A New Jersey federal court's recent Lipitor rulings granting summary judgment and denying motions for class certification for two plaintiff classes offer insight into the level of rigorous analysis required by both parties and their experts to satisfy the requirements of class certification, says Catia Twal at Edgeworth Economics.
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Series
After Chevron: Challenges Loom For PBGC Actions
After Loper Bright, two recent actions taken by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. already under scrutiny seem destined to be challenged and resolved under the new standard of judicial deference, which will greatly affect employers with potential withdrawal liability exposure, say Robert Perry and David Pixley at Jackson Lewis.
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3 Leadership Practices For A More Supportive Firm Culture
Traditional leadership styles frequently amplify the inherent pressures of legal work, but a few simple, time-neutral strategies can strengthen the skills and confidence of employees and foster a more collaborative culture, while supporting individual growth and contribution to organizational goals, says Benjamin Grimes at BKG Leadership.
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E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Hyperlinked Documents
Recent rulings show that counsel should engage in early discussions with clients regarding the potential of hyperlinked documents in electronically stored information, which will allow for more deliberate negotiation of any agreements regarding the scope of discovery, say attorneys at Sidley.
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Loper Bright Limits Federal Agencies' Ability To Alter Course
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to dismantle Chevron deference also effectively overrules its 2005 decision in National Cable & Telecommunications Association v. Brand X, greatly diminishing agencies' ability to change regulatory course from one administration to the next, says Steven Gordon at Holland & Knight.
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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.