In the first court decision since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University et al., case number 19-1401, a Georgia federal district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in declining to dismiss their complaint concerning costly 401(k) plan fees and underperforming funds. In Goodman v. Columbus Reg’l Healthcare Sys., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13489 (M.D. Ga. Jan. 25, 2022), participants in Read More

In Hughes v. Northwestern University et al., case number 19-1401, Supreme Court of the United States, the high Court unanimously vacated and remanded the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. The Supreme Court found that the lower court had erred in finding that the ultimate decision-making authority resting in the retirement plan participants was sufficient to excuse the allegedly imprudent Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a federal district court’s grant of summary judgment to Allstate Insurance Company in Klaas v. Allstate Ins. Co., 2021 U.S App. LEXIS 38473 (11th Cir. Dec. 28, 2021). In that case, retired Allstate employees sued in a consolidated ERISA class action suit over Allstate’s decision to stop paying premiums on retirees’ life insurance policies. As Read More

Plan sponsors may consider adding three different types of defensive provisions to their retirement plans to help cut down on the number of participants filing claims alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). These defensive provisions can include claims procedure requirements, plan limitation periods, mandatory arbitration clauses, and class action waiver and venue provisions. All Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently issued its decision in Pharm. Care Mgmt. Ass'n. v. Wehbi, 2021 WL 5355916 (8th Cir. 2021), after reconsidering its prior ruling on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court. The Eighth Circuit reversed course from the prior ruling and concluded that ERISA did not preempt a North Dakota state law that governed relations between pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers Read More

After the U.S. Department of Labor expressed concerns about the quality of audits in employee benefit plans, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) released a Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS 136) to address those concerns. Originally slated to go into effect in 2020, AICPA delayed implementing the audit rules for one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, SAS 136 will apply to Read More

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published new guidance in January 2022 reaffirming the definition of sex discrimination under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). HHS states that statutes prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability apply to all health programs or related activities receiving federal funding. More specifically, the HHS Read More

A California federal magistrate judge has awarded over $20 million in attorney fees and costs to class counsel in its ERISA suit win over United Behavioral Health (UBH), a UnitedHealth Group unit. Although the magistrate judge slightly reduced their request, the award largely satisfied the class counsel's request for fees and costs. Justification of the Attorneys’ Fees and Costs Awards The court justified the Read More

Various ERISA cases are pending at the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts that could significantly affect ERISA law. Here is an overview of the cases you may wish to monitor in the upcoming months. High Court Could Consider Challenge to State Automatic-IRA Programs California Secure Choice Retirement Savings Program, or CalSavers, requires California workers to have a portion of their earnings Read More

The following are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the implementation of various components of the No Surprises Act (NSA) of Division BB of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA 2021). The FAQs also cover implementing regulations published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2021, as part of interim final rules with comment period, entitled “Requirements Related to Surprise Billing; Part I” and on Read More