Gerdau Macsteel Inc. has agreed to settle a paternity leave case that could cost the steel manufacturer as much as $5 million. After Gerdau denied Nicholas Johnson, a non-union employee, six weeks of paid paternity leave after the birth of his child, Johnson sued the company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Michigan’s Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act. He alleged that he and other male employees were denied Read More
Massachusetts Federal Court Initially Approves $61M Retirement Funds Settlement in GE Retirement Fund Case
A Massachusetts federal court has given preliminary approval to a $61 million settlement in a pending lawsuit concerning General Electric’s (GE) alleged mismanagement of retirement savings invested in a proprietary fund. The settlement would partially reimburse about 200,000 current and former participants in GE’s 401(k) plan for losses incurred since September 2011 because of GE Asset Management’s comparatively poor Read More
7th Circuit Rules ADA May Require Accommodations for Commuting Employees
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees to commute. However, the court declined to establish a bright-line rule about when the ADA requires such accommodations. The case is EEOC v. Charter Communications LLC, 7th Cir., No. 22-1231 (July 28, 2023). An employee at Charter Read More
Court Vacates HHS Regulation Involving Drug Manufacturer Assistance and ACA Cost-Sharing Limit
A federal court has invalidated a 2021 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation as arbitrary and capricious. The regulation changed the relationship between direct financial support from drug manufacturers and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) annual limits on cost-sharing. The case is HIV and Hepatitis Policy Inst. v. HHS, 2023 WL 6388932 (D.D.C. 2023). Drug manufacturers often provide direct Read More
Reporting Nonbinary Employees on the EEO-1 Survey
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) does not require employers to report employees as nonbinary on the EEO-1 form. While the form contains separate boxes for employers to designate male and female employees, there is no such box to designate an employee as nonbinary. However, the EEOC specifies that employers should use the comments section on the EEO-1 form to report these employees if they Read More
Federal Court Upholds DOL’s Final ESG Rule for Plan Fiduciaries
A Texas federal judge recently upheld a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) final rule concerning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in investment decisions by plan fiduciaries. Judge Matthew J. Kacmaryk found that the DOL’s ESG investing rule did not violate the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The ruling was unanticipated, as Judge Kacmaryk historically has struck down many Read More
Federal Court Tosses 401(k) Plan Mismanagement Suit Against Old Dominion
A federal court judge in North Carolina dismissed a lawsuit in which a former employee alleged that Old Dominion Freight Line had violated its fiduciary duty under ERISA by mismanaging its workers’ 401(k) plan. Specifically, ex-employee Harvey Davis claimed that Old Dominion failed to substitute cheaper investment funds for more expensive options, thus violating the duty of prudence under ERISA and failing to monitor Read More
Pensions Sue Fox Over False Reporting Creating Risk of Defamation Suits
Pension funds for New York City and Oregon state have sued Fox Corp. and its board of directors in Delaware State Court, claiming that they promoted false reporting, thus inviting defamation suits, to the detriment of shareholders. According to the pension funds’ complaint, Fox News fails to ensure that its political narrative broadcasts are based on facts or credible sources. Unlike other media companies, it Read More
Court Rules Plan’s Use of Comparable Medical Necessity Treatment Limitations for Medical and Mental Health Claims Complies with MHPAEA
In L.D. v. United Healthcare Insurance, 2023 WL 4847421 (D. Utah 2023), a group health plan participant sued the plan and its insurer after receiving a denial of coverage for her child’s residential treatment as not medically necessary. The plan participant claimed that the denial of her claim violated the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) in that the plan applied the "medically necessary" Read More
DC Circ. Reviews NLRB Order in Rite Aid Labor Violation Dispute
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently heard oral arguments over whether the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) properly found that Rite Aid violated labor laws in unilaterally imposing a bargaining proposal concerning employee health care coverage. The appellate court also considered whether the NLRB acted appropriately in ordering Rite Aid to contribute to a union’s health Read More
