The US Supreme Court declined to review a recent Ninth Circuit decision, blocking the interim rules that exempted employers with religious or moral objections from providing birth control coverage required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Until such time as this issue is clarified, it is prudent for employers with employees in certain states to
Supreme Court
US Supreme Court to Review Unusual Second Circuit Decision in Stock Drop Case Against IBM
On Monday, the US Supreme Court agreed to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Jander v. Retirement Plans Committee of IBM, a “stock drop” lawsuit against IBM’s benefit plan fiduciaries. The Second Circuit’s decision marked one of the few times a federal court permitted a “stock drop” lawsuit to survive dismissal since the Supreme Court’s decisions in Fifth Third Bank v. Dudenhoeffer (2012) and Harris v. Amgen (2016).…
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Worker Classification: Complications Beyond the Front Page
Posted in Employee Benefits, Employment
When California’s Dynamex decision rolled out the “ABC test”, it placed the burden on the employer to prove independent contractor (IC) status. In a presentation at the Employment and Employee Benefits Forum in California, McDermott’s lawyers discussed the implications of Dynamex, as it applies to various types of employers as well as those using…
First Circuit Holds Defendants Have Burden to Negate Loss Causation in ERISA Fiduciary Duty Cases
The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit has solidified a circuit split on who has burden of proving loss causation in ERISA breach of fiduciary duty cases. The First Circuit joined the Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Circuits holding that once a plaintiff demonstrates a fiduciary breach, the defendant has the burden to negate…
ERISA Preempts State Regulation of PBM–Pharmacy Pricing Agreements
By M. Miller Baker & Sarah P. Hogarth on
ERISA broadly preempts state laws that “relate to” ERISA-governed employee benefit plans to ensure a uniform federal regulatory scheme and to relieve ERISA plans from the burdens of satisfying a patchwork of state laws. Recently, however, several states have enacted legislation designed to regulate the prices that pharmacy benefit managers, as third-party administrators for ERISA-governed…
Transgender Employees and Employment Discrimination
By Alison L. Nadel & Natalie Colvin on
Posted in Employment
Alison Nadel and Natalie Colvin wrote this bylined article about considerations for employers around gender identity and expression under Title VII.
UK Supreme Court Rules Employment Tribunal Fee Regime
By Katie Clark, Paul McGrath & Anthony A. Bongiorno on
Posted in Employment, Labor
A significant judgment delivered on July 26, 2017, by the UK Supreme Court increases the likelihood of employment claims being brought in the future and is of significance to all organizations employing staff in the United Kingdom.
Sharp Questions Dominate Supreme Court Oral Arguments Regarding the Challenge to the Availability of ACA Premium Tax Credits
By J. Peter Rich on
Posted in Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans
On March 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral arguments in King v. Burwell, the highest profile challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since the Supreme Court’s 2012 decision to uphold the law. The oral arguments featured sharp questioning of both sides. A decision is anticipated in June to…
Supreme Court Upholds ERISA Plan’s Three-Year Deadline to File a Lawsuit
Posted in Benefit Controversies, Retirement Plans
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that an ERISA plan may properly impose a reasonable time limit on filing a lawsuit to recover benefits. Such time may start to run even before completion of the required administrative review process.
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