Kroger asked an Ohio federal court to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit in which workers claim that they paid excessive, unreasonable, and undisclosed annual record-keeping fees to participate in the employer’s retirement savings plan. According to Kroger, employees paid reasonable yearly fees in line with federal law and received annual fee disclosures stating the yearly expense ratios.  Kroger employee Read More

Johnson v. Ballad Health, 2022 WL 214488 (E.D. Tenn. 2022) Johnson's employer automatically enrolled her in an employer-paid long-term disability plan as a benefit of her employment. Johnson also opted to enroll in the plan's employee-paid "buy-up" benefit feature. The employer's summary plan description (SPD) described the employee-paid "buy-up" benefit as “additional coverage” of 60%, while the employee’s Read More

The Home Depot Inc. argued that a Georgia federal district court should dismiss the pending $140 million ERISA class action as per its summary judgment motion, as a better 401(k) plan with lower fees for its employees does not exist. The Home Depot 401(k) plan is the largest of its kind, holding about $9 billion in investments for hundreds of thousands in employees.  In response, plan participants argued that they Read More

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Act, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act and related guidance require group health plans and insurers to cover the costs of COVID-19 diagnostic testing without cost-sharing, prior authorization, or other medical management requirements. If plans do not negotiate a rate for the testing, they must pay for the testing at the cash rate Read More

The Department of Labor (DOL), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have released Frequently Asked Questions Regarding the Federal Independent Dispute Resolution Process (FAQs). This new guidance relates to the No Surprises Act, which Congress enacted in 2021 as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA). The three federal agencies issued Federal Read More

In Buford v. General Motors, L.L.C., case number 4:16-CV-14465-TGB-MKM, the U.S. District Court of Michigan ruled that General Motors violated COBRA election notice requirements when it failed to timely provide an employee with a COBRA election notice upon his retirement. As a result, General Motors was subject to statutory penalties due to violating federal law.    Buford retired from General Motors on Read More

U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos granted class status to tens of thousands of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ex-employees in an ERISA suit related to mismanagement of its employee 401(k) plan. In support of its motion to certify the class, Falberg also pointed to other courts which recently have certified ERISA classes of retirement plan participants suing financial services providers for unfairly promoting proprietary Read More

A North Carolina federal judge found that Aetna Life Insurance Co. abused its discretion and violated ERISA in underpaying and denying claims for coverage for two mental health facilities in Texas. In doing so, Aetna violated the terms of the Bank of America Group Benefits Program and its medical necessity criteria.  Alan R. and J.R., beneficiaries of the health plan, filed suit against Aetna in April 2020. J.R., Read More

In Wachala et al. v. Astellas US LLC et al., case number 1:20-cv-03882, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Astellas employees sued their employer and the retirement plan’s investment manager, Aon Investments USA Inc. The employees claim that Aon violated ERISA by selecting its own investment trusts as plan options. In addition, they point out that Aon replaced better-performing funds with its Read More

The Tri-Agencies – the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury – published their first annual report on compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), as amended by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). Although the 2022 MHPAEA Report to Congress stated that the Tri-Agencies had issued a preliminary determination of Read More