Toyota Motor North American (Toyota) has asked a federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit over whether the company underestimated employees' hours to cut down on their entitlement to leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Toyota also asked that the judge compel arbitration of the claim, alleging that the plaintiff had signed an arbitration agreement waiving his right to participate in a Read More
McDonald’s Settles Class Action Lawsuit Over Improper COBRA Notices
McDonald’s has settled a class action lawsuit for $156,783.00 over allegations that it failed to provide former employees with sufficient notice of continued health insurance coverage under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). Class members consist of 9,000 former employees, all of whom received the deficient COBRA notices between December 15, 2017, and February 9, 2021, and did not opt to Read More
5th Circ. Rules Against DOL In Data-For-Insurance ERISA Row
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the decision of a Texas federal court, finding that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) had acted arbitrarily in finding a company's health insurance plan to be exempt from ERISA. The case is Data Marketing Partnership v. LABR, case number 20-11179 (August 17, 2022). Data Marketing Partnership (“Data Marketing”) had challenged a DOL advisory opinion that its Read More
Conducting Formal Racial Equity Audits in the Workplace
Companies have increasingly turned to formal racial equity audits to identify and address systemic bias and discrimination. Typically, a third-party or external law firm conducts a racial equity audit for a company by evaluating its policies, procedures, and practices. For instance, the auditor may look at the company's recruiting, interviewing, hiring, promotion, and retention processes. The auditor also may examine Read More
DOL’s Transaction Waiver Proposal Raises Issues
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued a proposal in July 2022 to tighten the rules allowing asset managers to oversee retirement plans. More specifically, the proposal would make changes to the Qualified Professional Asset Manager (QPAM) exemption to prohibited transactions under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The QPAM exemption allows Read More
SEC Adopts Final Executive Compensation Rule 12 Years Later
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has finalized the executive compensation or “pay-versus-performance” rule that Congress first directed it to create in 2010 when it passed the Dodd-Frank Act. The rule, designed to provide more information to investors about how companies calculate pay for CEOs and other top executives, requires companies to justify executive pay to shareholders by comparing it to the Read More
Federal Judge Rejects Motion to Dismiss HIV Patients’ Disability Bias Suit by CVS
A California federal judge refused to dismiss a proposed class action claiming that CVS Pharmacy’s prescription drug program discriminates against HIV and AIDS patients. CVS had argued that its five subsidiaries against which the plaintiffs had filed suit under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) could not be held responsible for the alleged discrimination. The judge disagreed, finding that separate corporate entities Read More
New ERISA Retirement Plan Court Cases Pending
ERISA class action lawsuits, alleging that plans have charged excessive fees or provided poorly performing investment selections in retirement plans, have continued in recent months. The U.S. Supreme Court’s January 2022 ruling in Hughes v. Northwestern University has not stopped the deluge of these filings, even as summer rulings in the Sixth Circuit have potentially narrowed the pleading standards for these types Read More
Companies Urge Supreme Court to Preserve Affirmative Action in Higher Ed
As the U.S. Supreme Court begins its 2022-2023 term, among the first cases it will take up are a pair of cases that challenge the future of affirmative action in higher education. The cases are Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) is asking the high Court to overrule its 2003 Read More
Collecting Pay Data May Help EEOC Identify Race and Sex Discrimination
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (National Academies) recently published a study in which it concluded that collecting pay data can help the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) prevent and combat race and sex discrimination in American workplaces. Since 1966, EEOC has required employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees to Read More
