Novel ERISA Suit Challenging Employer’s Use of Forfeited 401(k) Funds Moves Forward In the first suit of its kind, a California federal district court judge refused to dismiss a suit against Qualcomm Inc. by retired workers, who alleged that the company had misspent forfeited 401(k) funds obtained when workers left the company before the employer match to their 401(k) plan had fully vested. The former workers Read More

Tesla’s general counsel has announced that its shareholders recently approved a multibillion-dollar compensation package for its CEO, Elon Musk. The shareholders also approved moving the company’s incorporation from Delaware to Texas. Nonetheless, Musk's compensation package remains an issue in ongoing litigation in Delaware. Earlier this year, the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected Musk’s proposed compensation Read More

A media company has settled a class action lawsuit in which its workers alleged that it failed to negotiate lower investment expenses or properly monitor investment options. Workers at Aegis Media Americas Inc., which Japanese international marketing firm Dentsu owns, accused it of violating its fiduciary duty under the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) concerning the workers’ $540 million 401(k) Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently issued an opinion with critical implications for the healthcare industry. This court decision clarifies the expansive reach of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s (ERISA) preemption of state law causes of action relating to preservice coverage communications between healthcare providers and health plan administrators. The case is Bristol SL Holdings Read More

A former Wells Fargo employee filed a proposed class action lawsuit against the company, alleging that it violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in using forfeited 401(k) funds to reduce its own contributions to the plan rather than to benefit plan participants. The case is Thomas O. Matula Jr. v. Wells Fargo & Co. et al., case number 3:24-cv-03504, U.S. District Court for the Northern Read More

A bipartisan group of attorneys general from 31 states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari by Oklahoma’s insurance commissioner to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. In its ruling, the Tenth Circuit held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Medicare Part D partially preempted an Oklahoma law regulating Read More

A New York federal district court judge has ruled that an amended ERISA complaint based on a breach of fiduciary duty against the Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America (TIAA) may proceed after it was originally dismissed in 2022. The judge agreed that the complaint contained sufficient evidence of TIAA, a wealth management and investment firm, systematically cross-selling its adviser-managed account Read More

A federal district court judge denied Qualcomm Inc.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former employee and current company 401(k) retirement plan participant. Antonio Perez-Cruet alleges in his Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) suit that Qualcomm violated its duty of prudence when it used forfeited retirement funds to reduce its plan contributions rather than decrease administrative expenses borne Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have updated the Submission Instructions and User Manual for the Gag Clause Prohibition Compliance Attestation (GCPCA). Background of the GCPCA Group health plans and insurance companies cannot enter contracts with providers, provider networks, or entities offering provider network Read More

A group of mostly Republican senators has issued a resolution of disapproval to repeal the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new rule that expands who qualifies as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Two Republican representatives introduced a similar measure in the U.S. House of Representatives. These members of Congress criticize the new rule as damaging Americans’ ability to save Read More