A proposed class of Ecolab Inc. retirees who alleged their joint-and-survivor annuity pension benefits were miscalculated told a Minnesota federal judge the water management and sanitation company had agreed in principle to settle their federal benefits lawsuit, according to a court filing.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Ecolab Agrees To Settle Pension Calculation Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

A proposed class of Ecolab Inc. retirees who alleged their joint-and-survivor annuity pension benefits were miscalculated told a Minnesota federal judge the water management and sanitation company had agreed in principle to settle their federal benefits lawsuit, according to a court filing.

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Brief

Providence Health Gets Green Light For 401(k) Forfeiture Deal

By Patrick Hoff

A Washington federal judge has approved a nearly $43 million settlement agreement that ends a lawsuit alleging Providence Health & Services unlawfully used forfeited retirement funds to cover employer contributions instead of plan expenses.

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Brief

PBM Fee Disclosure Rule Clears White House Review

By Kellie Mejdrich

A White House budget office has completed review of a rule from the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits arm that would require new fee disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers, which act as intermediaries between drugmakers, pharmacies and insurers.

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Employers Say United Health Double Dealt With Claims

By Spencer Brewer

Multiple employers with self-funded medical plans including Aramark and Kraft Heinz told a Texas federal judge United Health Group Inc. regularly approved bogus healthcare claims collectively worth millions of dollars and then helped itself to undisclosed fees incurred from those approvals.

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POLICY & REGULATION

Allegheny County Passes 12-Week Paid Parental Leave

By Max Kutner

Pennsylvania's second-most populous county approved what worker advocates said was the first county-mandated paid parental leave policies in the U.S.

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LITIGATION

SEIU Fired Organizer Over Military Leave, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

An SEIU organizer was subjected to intense scrutiny and ultimately fired for taking time off to fulfill her obligations as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, according to a new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

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United Rentals Hit With ERISA Suit Over 401(k) Forfeitures

By Brian Steele

A proposed class action in Connecticut federal court accuses United Rentals (North America) Inc. of violating the federal retirement security act by shifting nearly $8.7 million in 401(k) expenses to plan members while using $14.3 million in forfeitures to offset its own contributions.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

The Law360 Pulse Leaderboard: A Look At The Top Firms

By Rachel Reimer

What makes a firm stand out in the ever-changing legal landscape? Here's a peek at the 2026 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard — the firms that can demonstrate excellence on measures of prestige and the reach and capability of their legal practice.

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Watchdog Can Pursue Jackson Walker Fees, Judge Says

By Clara Geoghegan

The U.S. Trustee's Office has standing to pursue millions of dollars in fees paid to Jackson Walker LLP in cases assigned to a judge who was in an undisclosed romantic relationship with one of the firm's ex-partners, a Texas bankruptcy court has concluded.

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6th Circ.'s Sutton Floats Class Action Limits At Judiciary Panel

By Jeff Overley

An influential federal judge is proposing new restrictions on class actions that aim to broadly block government policies, judiciary advisers heard at a Wednesday gathering, which also explored transparency ideas affecting legal finance and hard-to-access court records in the red-hot realm of immigration litigation.

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Ex-Employee Of Seyfarth Client Drops Suit Over Data Breach

By Craig Clough

A Texas woman who filed a proposed class action against Seyfarth Shaw LLP over a data hack voluntarily dropped the claims Tuesday without prejudice, according to a filing in Illinois federal court. 

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DOJ Moves To Remove Minn. Judges From Immigration Cases

By Britain Eakin

A top U.S. Department of Justice official has moved to disqualify two Minnesota federal judges from immigration cases, arguing that interviews they gave to The New York Times about the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts suggest they can't be impartial.

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FBI Says Fired Agents Acted in Politicized Manner

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Lawyers for the government argued in a Washington, D.C., federal court Wednesday that an unfair firing suit from two former FBI agents should be tossed because they worked in a politicized manner on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

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Sen. Blackburn Clears Path For Trump's Tenn. Court Nominee

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has returned her blue slip for a judicial nominee for the Eastern District of Tennessee after an apparent delay.

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​​​​​​​Mamdani Taps Top Judicial Adviser Amid New Ethics Reforms

By Andrea Keckley

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that he has appointed a lawyer from the New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice to lead his judicial advisory committee as the mayor's office unveils new reforms to the city's judicial selection process.

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McCarter Beats Estate's Bid To Start $9.75M Interest Clock

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut state court judge has blocked a mall developer's family from filing a formal offer to settle a malpractice suit against McCarter & English LLP for $9.75 million, standing by a November 2025 decision to pause the case while similar litigation proceeds to trial.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Cooley LLP

Cooper & Kirk

Feinberg Jackson

Gibson Dunn

Greenberg Traurig

Hayber McKenna

Holland & Knight

Jackson Walker LLP

Jones Day

Karpf Karpf

Kirkland & Ellis

Koskoff Koskoff

Latham & Watkins

McCarter & English

McKool Smith

Milberg PLLC

Morgan Lewis

Nichols Kaster

Nilan Johnson

Norton Rose

Rusty Hardin

Seyfarth Shaw

Sidley Austin

Skadden Arps

Strauss Borrelli

Wiggin & Dana

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

A Better Balance

Aramark

Brennan Center for Justice

Burford Capital LLC

Ecolab Inc.

International Legal Finance Association

Lawyers for Civil Justice

NFL Enterprises LLC

New York City Bar Association

New York University

Parabellum Capital LLC

Principal Financial Group Inc.

Providence Health & Services Inc.

SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania

Service Employees International Union

The Kraft Heinz Co.

The New York Times Co.

United Rentals Inc.

Whirlpool Corp.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Attorney General's Office

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Executive Office of the President

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Judicial Conference of the United States

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Army

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget