The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued proposed updates to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). Notice of the proposed updates allows 60 days for public comments, expiring on January 20, 2023. The existing features of the VFCP will remain in place until EBSA publishes final revisions to the VFCP in the Federal Register. EBSA’s VFCP originated Read More

Capital One won a recent dismissal in one of the many Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) suits, filed by workers, concerning the low-performing BlackRock target-date-funds (TDFs). On the same day that he dismissed a similar suit against Booz Allen Hamilton, Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff dismissed the Capital One employee suit. Still, as in the Booz Allen case, he gave the employees 14 days to amend their Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit appeared receptive to reviving an ERISA class action suit against Northwestern University, claiming mismanagement of the workers’ 403(b) plan, albeit on a limited scale. The employees alleged that Northwestern breached their fiduciary duties under ERISA by allowing too many investment options, causing them to pay excessive fees. In addition, they claimed that Read More

In Tullgren v. Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. et al., case number 1:22-cv-00856, Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed an employee’s 401(k) mismanagement suit against Booz Allen Hamilton, at least for now. The judge gave the employee leave to file an amended complaint within 14 days.  Michael Tullgren had filed suit against the Virginia-based consulting Read More

U.S. Magistrate Joseph C. Spero granted a motion to compel from a proposed class of patients, alleging that their insurer, United Behavioral Health, had underpaid their out-of-network reimbursement claims. The judge found that third-party billing contractor, MultiPlan, had waived all claimed protections in its privilege log and failed to follow an October order concerning the discovery dispute. As a result, MultiPlan Read More

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a final rule adopting amendments to the Investment Duties regulation under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These amendments, which become effective on January 30, 2023, change certain amendments to the Investment Duties regulation adopted in 2020 and are part of the Biden Read More

The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has published a proposed amendment to Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 2002-51. In conjunction with the proposed amendment, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published an amendment statement of its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP). Comments on the proposed rule are due by January 20, 2023.  PTE 2002-51 exempts certain transactions identified Read More

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule that would update HIPAA’s electronic transaction standards regarding some retail pharmacy transactions related to healthcare claims. The affected retail pharmacy transactions include health care claims or equivalent encounter information, eligibility for a health plan, referral certification and authorization, and coordination of Read More

A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently heard oral arguments in the case of K. et al. v. United Behavioral Health et al., case number 21-4088. The judges appeared skeptical of United Behavioral Health’s challenge to the district court's 2021 ruling. That court found that United and an Alcatel-Lucent employee medical plan violated the ERISA by denying inpatient mental health treatment Read More

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which allows states to ban abortion, many employers vowed to protect abortion access for their workers. Some employers took action to adjust their health plans, and others promised workers that they would still be able to obtain abortions, even in states where it is illegal, by providing financial support for out-of-state travel or other Read More