The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 54 concerning contraception requirements for group health insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA requires certain non-grandfathered group health plans and individual insurance to cover preventative services without Read More

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a proposed rule that implements Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Section 1557 prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability in certain health programs and activities. After a 2020 rule limited this section’s scope and power to cover fewer programs and services, the newly proposed rule reinstates Read More

ERISA Claims Arising from Unauthorized Retirement Account Access Cybersecurity breaches concerning workers' personal information and retirement savings have increased liability risks for benefit plans and third-party administrators under federal benefits laws. In February 2021, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report warning about these increased legal risks for ERISA plan fiduciaries due Read More

The year of 2022 has been a year for major legal rulings impacting various aspects of health care and pharmaceutical law. The following is a summary of the most significant of those decisions: U.S. Supreme Court Overturns Roe v. Wade The U.S. Supreme Court’s highly controversial ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022, overturned nearly 50 years of the constitutional right to Read More

The Office of Civil Rights (OCR), a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has reached an $875,000 settlement and an extensive corrective action plan (CAP) with a university medical center concerning its violation of HIPAA’s privacy, security, and breach notification rules. Hacking a medical center web server, containing protected health information (PHI) by an unknown third party, led to Read More

In Gimeno v. NCHMD, Inc., 2022 WL 2309436, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed the trial court's dismissal of a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty concerning an ERISA-governed life insurance plan. In reinstating the lawsuit, the Court of Appeals ruled that ERISA permits claims to recover money equal to benefits lost due to a breach of fiduciary duty. After a life insurance plan Read More

A Wisconsin federal judge approved a $5.1 million settlement of a class action lawsuit against Costco concerning its 401(k) plan. Costco Wholesale Corp.'s retirement plan participants alleged that the company violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). An independent fiduciary, Fiduciary Counselors, approved the settlement, which represents an amount that is about 16% of the allegedly excessive fees Read More

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has significantly delayed the issuance of guidance on the ability of employers to offer certain incentives for employees to participate in wellness programs. These delays are attributable to the current composition of the EEOC, which consists of three Republicans and two Democrats, who have been unable to publish a regulatory agenda for the agency in the fall of 2020 Read More

Employers who allow workers to work remotely, or on a hybrid work schedule, could face challenges related to wage and hour compliance issues under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Hourly workers who are not exempt from the FLSA overtime rules, which have no set or enforced policies on where and when they can work, could create major liability for employers under certain circumstances.  While there is no way to Read More

Several courts issued notable decisions during the first six months of 2022 that significantly affected ERISA-governed benefit plans.  U.S. Supreme Court Revives Workers’ Benefits Lawsuit In January, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Northwestern University’s argument that the workers’ ability to choose from quality investment options insulated it from claims over alleged poor or imprudent options. The high Read More