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Second Circuit Holds that Plan Arbitration Provisions that Force Plaintiff to Surrender Statutory Right To Plan-Wide Relief Are...

The Second Circuit recently ruled that an ERISA plan’s arbitration provision was not enforceable because the provision barred plan-wide relief. Cedeno v. Sasson, 2024 WL 1895053 (2d Cir. May 1, 2024). The Court decision...more

Drugmaker Sued for…Overpaying for Drugs? Lawsuit Ushers in Expected Wave of Welfare Fiduciary Litigation

The first complaint was filed in what is expected to be a wave of litigation alleging breach of fiduciary duty in selecting and monitoring welfare plan vendors. While the facts of this particular case may make it somewhat...more

Courts Continue to Scrutinize Arbitration Clauses in ERISA Plans

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent district court decision highlights the continued uncertainties about what it means to include an arbitration clause in an ERISA plan. While courts generally agree that such clauses are, in theory,...more

What Does Bostock Mean? Texas Judge Tosses EEOC Guidance Interpreting the Landmark Title VII Ruling that Protects LGBTQ+ Employees

Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC published guidance to provide clarity on its interpretation of Title VII protections for LGBTQ+ employees in the wake of the landmark case Bostock v. Clayton County, GA. A recent decision by a...more

Are Birth Control and Plan B Next? Texas Judge Targets Preventive Care Mandate in the Name of Religious Liberty

Seyfarth Synopsis: To promote healthier lifestyles in an effort to ultimately reduce the cost of health care in the United States, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires private health plans to provide first dollar coverage...more

Equal Access to Travel Benefits

Seyfarth Synopsis: As more employers announce that they cover travel benefits under their medical plans that will allow participants to be reimbursed for certain travel expenses necessary in order to access otherwise covered...more

Seventh Circuit Rejects Plan’s Attempt to Compel Individual Arbitration of Participant’s Fiduciary Breach Claims

Seyfarth Synopsis: Recognizing that the Plan contained an unambiguous arbitration  provision, and that “ERISA claims are generally arbitrable,” the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals nonetheless found that arbitration could not...more

SCOTUS Rules in Unanimous Favor of Catholic Government Contractor That Refuses to Work With Same-Sex Couples

Seyfarth Synopsis: The narrow but unanimous ruling in Fulton v. City of Philadelphia does little to clarify for employers the tensions between religious liberties and LGBTQIA anti-discrimination rights....more

Transgender Patients Remain Protected: District Court Blocks HHS Rule From Taking Effect

Seyfarth Synopsis: A Federal Court has temporarily enjoined the Trump administration from putting into effect its recent rule that strips the Affordable Care Act of its gender identity protections....more

The 10th Circuit’s New Interpretation of What is Mandated under ERISA’s Notice Requirements May have Far Reaching Effects On Plan...

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

Supreme Court Holds that Title VII Prohibits Discrimination Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

For decades, courts and practitioners have struggled with whether federal law protects employees against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Yesterday, in a landmark 6-3 decision authored by...more

Ninth Circuit Rules that a Domestic Partner Under California State Law Was a Spouse for an ERISA Plan

In an unpublished decision dated May 16, 2019, the Ninth Circuit held that a plan administrator abused its discretion by denying surviving spouse benefits under an ERISA retirement benefit plan to a participant’s domestic...more

High Court To Determine Whether Title VII Prohibits Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Seyfarth Synopsis: Yesterday, the Supreme Court granted review to a trio of Title VII cases raising the issue of whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Court’s...more

Plaintiffs Must Do More Than Claim A Breach of Fiduciary Duty to State An ERISA Claim

Seyfarth Synopsis: A recent case from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania reaffirms the basic principle that a threshold element of any ERISA claim is pleading the existence of an ERISA plan....more

Fourth Circuit Finds Insurer Not Liable For Employer’s Mistake.

The Fourth Circuit found in favor of an insurer on a claim for life insurance benefits, finding the insured’s failure to submit the required evidence of insurability was not excused by his employer having wrongly deducted...more

The Supreme Court’s Decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop Provides Little Guidance on Intersection of Religious and LGBT Rights

In a largely symbolic ruling, in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 in favor of a cake shop owner who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple based on his...more

Third Circuit Adopts Plan Friendly Interpretation Of A Mental/Nervous Limitation

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a win for ERISA plan and claims administrators, the Third Circuit has affirmed the broad enforcement of a long-term disability plan’s mental or nervous limitation period....more

Second Circuit Holds That Title VII Bars Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Seyfarth Synopsis: In landmark decision, the Second Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit in holding that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as a subset of sex discrimination....more

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument In Key Case On LGBT Rights And Religious Liberty

Seyfarth Synopsis: Oral argument suggests the Supreme Court is narrowly divided on how to reconcile non-discrimination protections for LGBT individuals with claims for religious liberty, with Justice Kennedy appearing likely...more

SCOTUS Declines To Address Texas Supreme Court Ruling Limiting Reach of Obergefell

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Supreme Court announced that it would not hear an appeal from the City of Houston in a case challenging the city’s ability to offer spousal benefits to same-sex spouses of municipal employees. By...more

TITLE VII: Court Breaks from Department of Justice on Transgender Rights

Seyfarth Synopsis: In the first case following the Department of Justice’s pronouncement that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination against transgender persons on the basis of gender identity, a court in the Western...more

The Ongoing Battle Between LGBTQ+ Rights And Claims Of Religious Liberty

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Department of Justice has reversed the previous Administration’s position on employment protections for transgender individuals, and issued a memorandum that will likely be relied on by private...more

Management Alert – The Current Federal Retrenchment on LGBT Rights

Seyfarth Synopsis: The first eight months of the new administration signals a retrenchment on the executive branch’s view of legal protections due LGBT individuals, including in employment....more

Texas Supreme Court Disputes Reach of Obergefell in Employee Benefits Case

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Texas Supreme Court held that the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark marriage equality decision, Obergefell v. Hodges, did not dispositively address how far government employers must go in providing benefits...more

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