Labor & Employment Law, Conflict of Laws

ERISA Litigation Alert: Check Your Plan Subrogation and Reimbursement Language to Eliminate “Contractual Gaps”

by Richard Birmingham | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 5/21/2013

In U.S. Airways v. McCutchen, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the ability of U.S. Airways’ health plan to recover medical expenses that it previously paid to the injured party from a third party settlement, but remanded the...more

Ninth Circuit Holds that Federal Securities Laws Preempt California Labor Code's Ban on Forced Patronage at Brokerage Firms

by Bram Hanono, Jennifer Redmond, John Stigi | Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 5/10/2013

In McDaniel v. Wells Fargo Investments, LLC, Nos. 11-17017, 11-55859, 11-55943, 11-55958, 2013 WL 1405949 (9th Cir. Apr. 9, 2013), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of four class...more

Protecting Privacy or Enabling Fraud? Employee Social Media Password Protection Laws May Clash with FINRA Rules

by Jessica Goldenberg | Proskauer - Privacy & Data Security on 5/9/2013

As a growing number of states pass legislation which will protect individuals’ social media accounts from employer scrutiny, they have encountered a surprising adversary – FINRA and other securities regulators....more

Off-Duty Pot Smoker Gets Rolled In New Court Of Appeals Case

by Sean Gallagher | Polsinelli on 5/8/2013

On April 25, 2013, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that the Colorado Lawful Activity statute does not prohibit an employer from terminating the employment of an employee for off-the-job use of medical marijuana. But one...more

Employee’s Firing over Off-Duty Medical Marijuana Use Is Legal, Colorado Court Holds

by Erin Clarke, Leslie Eaton | Ballard Spahr LLP on 5/7/2013

The Colorado Court of Appeals recently held that an employee can be fired for testing positive for medical marijuana use, even though it occurred off the job, it was legal under state law, and the employee was never under the...more

EEOC Makes Protecting Rights Of LGBT Workers A Top Priority

by Albert Llosas Barrueco | Pepper Hamilton LLP on 5/7/2013

As the debate over gay marriage continues to intensify throughout the country, so does the issue of workplace rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. LGBT workers currently face substantial...more

You Can Still Get Fired for Smoking Pot in Colorado

by Aaron Kase | Lawyers.com on 5/2/2013

Employees in Colorado can still be fired for testing positive for marijuana, an appeals court ruled last week. Medical use of marijuana has been legal in Colorado since 2000, and the state legalized the drug outright...more

Supreme Court Clarifies Subrogation Rights, Emphasizes Need for Precise Plan Language

by J. S. Christie, Andrew Elbon, B. David Joffe, Jessica Jones, Jack Levy, Gordon Earle Nichols, Laura Schiele Robinson, Jay Turner | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 4/25/2013

Plan sponsors, particularly those that sponsor self-funded health plans, should review plan document provisions in light of the recent decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen. In...more

Decisions Highlight Split In Application Of Computer Fraud And Abuse Act

by Thomas Dye | Carlton Fields on 4/25/2013

Trade secret claims have historically derived from state common law causes of action and, subsequently, most states’ adoption of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which codifies that common law and generally proscribes the...more

Genesis Healthcare v. Symczyk: Nearly as Many Questions as Answers

by Kirk Jenkins | Sedgwick LLP on 4/24/2013

When the petition for certiorari in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk was granted, it appeared that the Supreme Court was poised to resolve a clear split in the Circuits about the permissibility of “pick off” moves, at...more

Appellate Court: Tenured Teachers May be Terminated for “Disability” Without Violating CFEPA

by Daniel A. Schwartz | Pullman & Comley, LLC on 4/24/2013

The Connecticut Appellate Court yesterday released two notable employment law decisions. They won’t become “official” until April 30, 2013, so you have some time to digest them. I’ll cover one today and leave the other for a...more

Limits On Family Leave: Employees of the Same Employer

by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/24/2013

Both federal and state law provide employees leave for the birth or placement of a child and for bonding with a child after birth or placement. Under certain circumstances, employers may limit their employees’ leave. One such...more

Buyer Beware of Successor Liability For FLSA Claims

by Donna Ray Berkelhammer | Sands Anderson PC on 4/23/2013

Businesses often acquire other businesses through an asset purchase, rather than a stock purchase, so that the buyer does not inherit the liabilities of the seller. Not all business owners realize that federal labor law...more

Supreme Court Rules on Equitable Defenses to Reimbursement Claim by Employee Health Plan

by Katherine Lange | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC on 4/22/2013

Executive Summary: Reimbursement claim brought under ERISA sec. 502(a)(3) was akin to “equitable lien by agreement,” and therefore could not be defeated by equitable defenses that contradicted plan terms. ...more

U.S. Government Remains Firm on “Deferred Action” Despite Suit to Shut It Down

by Ronald Shapiro on 4/19/2013

On Monday of this week, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor held a hearing on a Complaint filed by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (“ICE”) agents who are challenging the federal “deferred action” program...more

Supreme Court “Dooms” Equitable Defenses to Plan’s Reimbursement Provisions

by Lori Oliphant | Winstead PC on 4/19/2013

In a prior blog, I discussed the importance of including unambiguous reimbursement rights in health plan documents in order to manage healthcare costs. The enforceability of such rights was confirmed by the United States...more

High Court Rules Equitable Defenses Don’t Override ERISA Plan Terms

by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 4/19/2013

On April 16, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen (No. 11–1285), deciding the issue of whether equitable defenses, such as the principle of unjust enrichment, can override the...more

U.S. Supreme Court: Equity Cannot Trump ERISA Plan Terms in ERISA Reimbursement Case

by D. Michael Reilly | Lane Powell PC - ERISA Law on 4/18/2013

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday strengthened the ability of employer health insurance plans to recoup payments for medical expenses paid for an injured plan participant who later sues to recover damages from a third...more

U.S. Supreme Court Rules That Plan Terms Trump Equitable Defenses

by Russell Hirschhorn, Myron Rumeld | Proskauer - ERISA Practice Center on 4/17/2013

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in U.S. Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen in which the Court unanimously ruled that a clearly drafted reimbursement clause will trump all equitable defenses....more

Creditors Can Reach Benefits under "Top Hat" Plan, United States District Court of Maryland Rules

by Katherine Lange | Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC on 4/17/2013

Executive Summary: ERISA “top hat” plan’s anti-alienation provision does not trump state garnishment laws. A familiar feature of ERISA is its protection of a participant’s retirement savings from creditors; ERISA...more

Buyer Beware: Seventh Circuit Upholds Application of the Federal Common Law Standard of Successor Liability in an Asset Sale

by Bill Berger, Adam Duerr, Gino Maurelli, Matthew Nyberg | Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck on 4/15/2013

One of the benefits to structuring an acquisition as an asset deal is that the buyer has the ability to choose the liabilities that it will assume and the liabilities that will remain with the seller, including contingent...more

7th Circuit Holds Successor Liable for FLSA Claims, Despite Buyer’s Disclaimer

by Leo Crowley, Thomas N. Makris, Alexander Parachini, Paula Weber | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 4/12/2013

In Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions, LLC, the 7th Circuit in an opinion written by Judge Posner held that, absent a good reason to withhold liability, a purchaser of assets was subject to successor liability for Fair...more

Successor Liability Under The FLSA: Seventh Circuit Holds Purchaser Of Assets From Receiver Of Company Which Had Violated FLSA...

by M. Reid Estes, Jr., Daniel Gosch | Dickinson Wright on 4/11/2013

In a case which is sure to complicate the sale of companies (or discrete divisions thereof) and have widespread influence in other Circuits, the Seventh Circuit recently held that a company which acquired the assets (not...more

Does The Alabama Trade Secrets Act Limit Remedies For Theft Of Information?

by Gillian Watson Egan | Burr & Forman on 4/10/2013

Alabama enacted the Alabama Trade Secrets Act (the “ATSA”) in 1987. However, since that time, there have been relatively few reported court decisions analyzing the impact of the ATSA on common law claims. A federal district...more

Asset Acquisition Comes With Unexpected FLSA Pain

by John Birmingham Jr. | Foley & Lardner LLP on 4/10/2013

Some bargains are not as they seem. An asset-acquiring Company discovered this the hard way in Teed v. Thomas & Betts Power Solutions. In the case, at an auction, Thomas & Betts purchased the assets of a company in...more

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Labor & Employment Law › Conflict of Laws