UPDATE: On January 18, 2024, the Second DCA responded to requests for publication of its decision discussed in our last eAlert on this topic (below) and certified the decision for publication. This is an important next step...more
On January 4, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeal, Division 6, unanimously rejected the first lawsuit challenging a county retirement board’s implementation of the California Supreme Court’s Alameda decision (VCERA v....more
With recent well-publicized data breaches impacting pension systems and their retirees nationally, as well as increased Department of Labor scrutiny surrounding cybersecurity policies and procedures implemented by ERISA...more
10/6/2023
/ 401k ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Pensions ,
Plan Administrators ,
Popular
The constitutionality of California’s felony forfeiture statute, as applied by the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), survived yet another challenge in September 2023,...more
On September 21, 2023, a federal judge in Texas granted summary judgment in, and thus dismissed, a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 25 states and other interested parties challenging a final rule issued by the U.S....more
9/26/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Investment Opportunities ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan
On February 15, 2023, changes to Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 4 will be effective, and defined benefit plans will need to comply with these new rules in all actuarial funding valuations with measurement dates...more
Ransomware and other cybersecurity attacks have made national headlines during the past 12 months, and public pension systems are as susceptible to these attacks as any other organization. In this episode of Public Pensions &...more
10/21/2021
/ Best Practices ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Data Transfers ,
Information Technology ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Pensions ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Popular ,
Public Pension ,
Ransomware
All public pension plans need a well-crafted fiduciary liability insurance policy. This should include ample coverage, including protection against the risk of impending litigation. The recent ruling by the U.S. Court of...more
7/9/2021
/ Breach of Contract ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Duty to Defend ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Liability Insurance ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Pensions ,
Policy Exclusions ,
Public Pension ,
Retirement ,
Retirement Plan
On November 24, 2020, the California Supreme Court denied two requests for depublication of the First Appellate District’s decision Marin Assn. of Public Employees v. Marin County Employees’ Retirement Assn. (2016) 2...more
On September 23, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued orders in each of the four cases it had accepted for review but deferred pending its resolution of Alameda County Deputy Sheriff's Association, et al. v. Alameda...more
9/28/2020
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Contracts Clause ,
Estoppel ,
Felons ,
Forfeiture ,
Forfeiture Statutes ,
Pensions ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) ,
Retirement Plan ,
State Constitutions
In a landmark decision of a unanimous court, on July 30, 2020, the California Supreme Court issued its second case in two years on the scope of the “California Rule,” Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Assoc. et al., v. Alameda...more
8/4/2020
/ CA Supreme Court ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Equitable Estoppel ,
Pensions ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) ,
Public Pension ,
Retirement Plan ,
Settlement Agreements ,
State Constitutions
The United States Supreme Court recently reviewed the federal constitutional standing requirements for members of a private defined-benefit pension plan who alleged that the plan trustees violated their fiduciary duties. ...more
6/11/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
On April 15, 2020, the California Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in the much-anticipated California Supreme Court public retirement case, Alameda County Deputy Sheriff's Association, et al. v. Alameda County Employees'...more
On December 12, 2019, the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District handed down a unanimous decision in Luke v. County of Sonoma, Sonoma County Employees’ Retirement Association, et al., affirming the...more
12/17/2019
/ Appeals ,
CalSTRS ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Pensions ,
Public Employees ,
Public Pension ,
Retirement Plan ,
State and Local Government ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Claims
In a much awaited announcement, on November 8, 2018, the California Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in CalFire Local 2881, et al. v. CalPERS, et al., which is the first of the five pending vested rights cases that are...more
11/12/2018
/ CA Supreme Court ,
CalPERS ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Litigation Strategies ,
Oral Argument ,
Pensions ,
Public Employees ,
Public Pension ,
Retirement Plan ,
State and Local Government ,
Vested Rights Doctrine
The evolution of vested rights jurisprudence in California is far from over, with the Second District Court of Appeal (“DCA”) stepping into the fray with its June 19, 2018 decision, Hipsher v. Los Angeles County Employees...more
In the latest state appellate decision addressing the constitutionality of the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (“PEPRA”) and other recent pension reform legislation, Division One of the First District...more
3/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employee Benefits ,
Estoppel ,
Judges ,
Pensions ,
Popular ,
Public Employees ,
Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) ,
Public Pension ,
Retirement Plan ,
State and Local Government ,
Vested Benefits
In the latest twist in California’s pending vested rights litigation, parties on all sides of Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Assn. et al v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Assn., et al. (2018) 19 Cal.App.5th 61...more
On December 30, 2016, Division Three of the First District Court of Appeal (“DCA”) issued a unanimous published decision in Cal FIRE Local 2881, et al. v. CalPERS, et al. (Dec. 30, 2016, A142793) (“CalFIRE Decision”)...more
1/5/2017
/ Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
CalPERS ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Pensions ,
Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA) ,
Public Pension ,
Retirement Plan ,
Service Credits ,
Vested Benefits
On December 20, 2016, the California Court of Appeal struck another blow to a legal challenge brought against an employer who changed its pension policies in the wake of the Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013...more
Much has been made of the recent Court of Appeal decision resolving a challenge to the Public Employees' Pension Reform Act of 2013 (PEPRA), Deputy Sheriffs' Assn. of San Diego County v. County of San Diego (Jan. 22, 2015,...more