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IL Federal Judge Grants Class Certification to Astellas Workers Over 401(k) Losses
In Wachala et al. v. Astellas US LLC et al., case number 1:20-cv-03882, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Astellas employees sued their employer and the retirement plan’s investment manager, Aon Investments USA Inc. The employees claim that Aon violated ERISA by selecting its own investment trusts as plan options. In addition, they point out that Aon replaced better-performing funds with its Read More
Taco Bell Prevails in ERISA Worker Misclassification Suit
Based on a lack of standing, a California federal district court dismissed a former Taco Bell recruiter's suit against the popular chain restaurant and its parent company, Yum Brands. The former recruiter had alleged that the companies had violated ERISA by intentionally misclassifying him as an independent contractor to deny him access to employee benefits, including the employee pension plan. U.S. District Judge Read More
Tri-Agencies’ First Annual Report Finds MHPAEA Compliance Lacking, but Plans and Issuers Still Can Take Corrective Actions
The Tri-Agencies – the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury – published their first annual report on compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). Although the 2022 MHPAEA Report to Congress stated that the Tri-Agencies had issued a preliminary determination of Read More
5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of $2.1M Atty Fee Fight From Texas Court
A panel of the Fifth Circuit affirmed a Texas federal court decision to dismiss a Texas personal injury law firm’s $2.1 million referral fee lawsuit against an Ohio law firm. The Fifth Circuit agreed with Ohio law firm Morgan Verkamp that its reply to one unsolicited email from the Texas law firm of Danziger & De Llano did not create sufficient connections to subject it to Texas law. The case is Danziger & De Read More
401(k) Fee Complaint Survives Dismissal Post-Hughes
In the first court decision since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University et al., case number 19-1401, a Georgia federal district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in declining to dismiss their complaint concerning costly 401(k) plan fees and underperforming funds. In Goodman v. Columbus Reg’l Healthcare Sys., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13489 (M.D. Ga. Jan. 25, 2022), participants in Read More
Supreme Court Revives Northwestern University Workers’ Class Action Lawsuit Alleging ERISA Violations
In Hughes v. Northwestern University et al., case number 19-1401, Supreme Court of the United States, the high Court unanimously vacated and remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Supreme Court found that the lower court had erred in finding that the ultimate decision-making authority resting in the retirement plan participants was sufficient to excuse the allegedly imprudent Read More
Eleventh Circuit Emphasizes Effectiveness of SPD Disclaimers
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s grant of summary judgment to Allstate Insurance Company in Klaas v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2021 U.S App. LEXIS 38473 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2021). In that case, retired Allstate employees sued in a consolidated ERISA class action suit over Allstate’s decision to stop paying premiums on retirees’ life insurance policies. As Read More
D.C. Federal Judge Pares Down H-2B Wage Rule Challenge
A D.C. federal district court judge has dismissed the claims of Louisiana crawfish peelers who filed suit over a wage determination rule concerning the H-2B guest worker program. They claim that they have experienced decreases in their pay rates because the rule allows employers to submit their prevailing wage data instead of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). However, the judge did permit the Read More
Defensive Plan Provisions Designed to Prevent ERISA Lawsuits
Plan sponsors may consider adding three different types of defensive provisions to their retirement plans to help cut down on the number of participants filing claims alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These defensive provisions can include claims procedure requirements, plan limitation periods, mandatory arbitration clauses, and class action waiver and venue provisions. All Read More
