In a June 14, 2021 information letter, the US Department of Labor (DOL) opined that a claimant appealing an adverse benefit determination under a plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended...more
6/29/2021
/ Audio Recording ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Claim Procedures ,
Customer Service Calls ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Insurance Industry ,
Plan Administrators ,
Third-Party Service Provider
In conjunction with the start of the Supreme Court’s new term, Eversheds Sutherland took a look back at the Court’s work in employee benefit cases since the enactment of ERISA. We found an astonishing 128 decisions, spanning...more
10/23/2017
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Tax ,
Income Taxes ,
LMRA ,
Military Service Members ,
NLRA ,
SCOTUS ,
Uniformed Services Former Spouses' Protection Act
On August 1, 2017, the US District Court for the Northern District of Ohio held that insurance agents working under independent contractor agreements with an insurer were employees for purposes of pursuing pension and other...more
8/10/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Industry ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Service Contracts
On June 5, a unanimous US Supreme Court reversed decisions of the US Courts of Appeal for the Third, Seventh, and Ninth Circuits, holding that a church-affiliated organization that establishes an employee benefits plan falls...more
On September 22, the Florida Supreme Court in Wells Fargo Bank NA v. Pruco Life Insurance Co., No. SC15-382 (Fla. Sept. 22, 2016) denied Pruco Life Insurance Company’s challenge to the validity of an insurance policy...more
Employers with salaried employees earning under $47,476 annually should evaluate the impact on their organizations of major changes to employee compensation following new federal wage requirements effective December 1,...more
The Defend Trade Secrets Act, signed into law on May 11, 2016, includes a whistleblower immunity notice provision. An employer that wants to preserve maximum recoveries for misappropriation against an employee should take...more
5/19/2016
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Confidential Information ,
Damages ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Immunity ,
Independent Contractors ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
New Legislation ,
Notice Requirements ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
After overwhelming passage in both the House and Senate, President Obama signed the Defend Trade Secrets Act into law on April 11, 2016. The Act provides a truly uniform, nationwide set of standards for protecting trade...more
An employee benefit plan that includes an alleged subsidization component for its basic and supplemental options is neither prohibited by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) nor a violation of the plan...more
5/5/2016
/ Arm's Length Principle ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Dismissals ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hartford Insurance Company ,
Life Insurance ,
Misrepresentation ,
Popular ,
Unjust Enrichment
As expected, overwhelming support for the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 led to its passage in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday by a 410-2 vote. During the floor debate, one Congressman noted that “Congress has...more
4/29/2016
/ Asset Seizure ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Ex Parte ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
Remedies ,
Trade Secrets ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
The U.S. Senate has unanimously approved a bill increasing the protections available to companies for their commercial secrets. The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA or the Act) provides for the first time a truly...more
4/12/2016
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) ,
Employment Contract ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Pending Legislation ,
Popular ,
Private Right of Action ,
Remedies ,
Trade Secrets ,
Uniform Trade Secrets Acts ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies
On June 30, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its much-anticipated Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative,...more
On December 9, 2014, the United States Supreme Court unanimously reversed a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holding that warehouse employees had stated a claim for unpaid wages under the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit makes pleading Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) violations more difficult by applying the heightened standard in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007), and Ashcroft...more
Late this summer, the Massachusetts Treasurer demanded mutual fund records on a nationwide basis as part of a multistate unclaimed property audit. Thirty-five (35) states are involved in the audit, but the Treasurer has...more
On September 22, 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the largest-ever whistleblower award, more than double last year’s record-breaking award. According to the Order, the award, which will likely...more
On August 26, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held in Vander Luitgaren v. Sun Life Ass. Co. of Canada, No. 13–2090, 2014 WL 4197947 (1st Cir. Aug. 26, 2014), that an insurer, acting as a claims administrator,...more
On August 14, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit became the first U.S. appellate court to weigh in on the extraterritorial application of the whistleblower provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street...more
On June 16, 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) initiated and resolved its first case charging an employer with unlawfully retaliating against a securities whistleblower under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street...more
On June 3, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) issued a whistleblower award to two individuals who had provided information leading to a successful SEC enforcement action. The whistleblower...more
In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Texas declared that at-will employees may not bring an action for fraud that is contingent on the promise of continued at-will employment. The Court also held that...more
On April 4, 2014, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Interim Final Rule establishing procedures concerning the manner in which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will address employee whistleblower...more
Yesterday, President Obama issued an Executive Order and Presidential Memorandum intended to address equal pay for women. The Executive Order prohibits federal contractors from retaliating against an applicant or employee...more
During a recent panel discussion at the Georgetown University Law Center’s 18th Annual Corporate Counsel Institute, the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Whistleblower, Sean McKessy, warned...more
In the first SOX whistleblower case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court held on March 4 that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) prohibits private contractors of publicly traded companies from retaliating...more