PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Federal Rule Aims to Hold Investment Advisors to a Higher Standard
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
Podcast Episode 189: Adding Context to Compliance and Color To Your Legal Practice
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
An Inside Look as a Juror - FCRA Focus Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Multiemployer Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
Update and Discussion on Legal and Practical Issues
Welcome to 'Just Compensation'
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS in Review, Biden Acts to Limit Non-Competes, NY HERO Act Model Safety Plans - Employment Law This Week®
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Wit et al. v. United Behavioral Health and Alexander et al. v. United Behavioral Health) exemplifies the challenge in balancing a desire to cover evolving...more
In McIntyre v. Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company, 972 F.3d 955 (8th Cir. 2020), the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit clarified the standard of review to apply where there has been a denial of...more
In Duncan v. Minnesota Life Ins. Co., 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 4069 (6th Cir. Feb. 10, 2021), the Sixth Circuit held that an insurer properly denied accidental death benefits on the grounds that a patient's leukemia caused the...more
In Lyn M. v. Premera Blue Cross, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23395 (10th Cir. July 24, 2020), the Tenth Circuit held that a district court had applied the wrong standard of review and incorrectly evaluated an ERISA plan...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent 10th Circuit decision holding that in order for the abuse of discretion standard to apply in litigation the claims administrator must provide participants with actual notice of discretionary...more
In Creed v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17613, (S.D. Ohio February 4, 2020), the court applied a "reasoned explanation" approach to hold that the evidence supported an insurer's decision to deny an...more
In Kaviani v. Reliance Std. Life Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 3006 (11th Cir. Jan. 31, 2020), the Eleventh Circuit held that an insurer had failed to give sufficient credence to a claimant's self-reports of pain and...more
In Arruda v. Zurich Am. Ins. Co., 951 F.3d 12, 13 (1st Cir. 2020), the First Circuit held that a claims administrator's decision to deny accidental death and dismemberment benefits was not an abuse of discretion where...more
The Tenth Circuit recently concluded that, as a matter of federal common law, a choice-of-law provision in a long-term disability insurance policy, which was part of the plaintiff’s employer’s ERISA plan, must be enforced...more
In recent Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) litigation challenging benefit decisions by plan administrators and fiduciaries, litigants have been pleading closely related claims under multiple ERISA...more
Up to now, our blog series has focused on best practices for implementing a plan’s claims and appeals procedure. We shift gears this week to see how following these best practices pays dividends if a participant’s (or...more
The upcoming term of the U.S. Supreme Court is shaping up to be a busy one with respect to cases arising under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). There have been other terms with multiple ERISA...more
On July 15, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit touched on the new regulations governing what constitutes a “full and fair review” of a claim for benefits under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act....more
Editor's Overview - We often talk about the importance of evaluating whether there are any procedural obstacles to plaintiffs pursuing their ERISA claims, particularly in complex, class actions where it may not be...more
The Second Circuit held that plaintiffs’ allegations that the defendant suffered from a “categorical potential conflict of interest”—because it both funded the plan and was the claim’s decision-maker—did not affect the...more
This month's Friday Five brings a quartet of court of appeals decisions: a pair from the Ninth Circuit relating to standard of review, an Eighth Circuit decision upholding a mental illness limitation, and a Sixth Circuit case...more
Welcome to the first edition of ERISA & Employee Benefits Alert. Our ERISA and Managed Care Group will be providing curated insights and news concerning notable ERISA and managed care issues that highlight current or emerging...more
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a U.S. District Court's application of deferential standard to the review of an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) administrator's decision based on broad...more
The Second Circuit determined that a district court erred when it denied an attorney fee award to an ERISA plaintiff who had sought benefits from a plan. In so ruling, the Second Circuit first concluded the district court...more
To reduce the cost of maintaining an ERISA plan and reduce the expense of ERISA litigation, it is helpful to have courts both apply a deferential standard of review and limit the review to the administrative record. If an...more
On July 10, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals announced that the full Court would re-hear a recent case concerning the applicable standard of review in an ERISA denial of benefits case – which is often outcome-determinative...more
Explaining that “[a]s any sports fan dismayed that instant replay did not overturn a blown call learns, it is difficult to overcome a deferential standard of review,” a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has called...more
One of the most important components of the employment relationship is the benefits package an employer is able to offer its employees. Employee benefits have to make business sense for the employer because there’s always a...more
The 2016 Presidential election was arguably the most contentious, unpredictable, and politically polarizing race in this nation's history. The contours of the electoral map changed by the hour in the days leading up to...more
In Depth - On April 12, 2016, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Halo v. Yale Health Plan, 2016 WL 1426291 (2d Cir. Apr. 12, 2016), addressed various issues that could arise during a plan administrator’s...more