There has been a recent rise in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) litigation against third-party administrators (TPAs) and other service providers challenging their management of self-funded health...more
6/2/2025
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Disputes ,
Damages ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Health Insurance ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Self-Funded Health Plans
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 17, 2025, issued a greatly anticipated decision in which the justices unanimously held that plaintiffs alleging a prohibited transaction under Section 1106(a)(1)(C) of the Employee Retirement...more
4/23/2025
/ Affirmative Defenses ,
Appeals ,
Article III ,
Cost-Shifting ,
Cunningham v Cornell University ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fiduciary ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Pleading Standards ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rule 11 ,
Sanctions ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 16, 2025, released its long-awaited proposed regulation interpreting the definition of "adequate consideration" as applied to private company stock acquired or sold by an employee...more
In Hutchins v. HP Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed – with prejudice – the plaintiff's claims challenging the use of forfeited employer 401(k) contributions. This is the latest...more
2/13/2025
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Retirement Plan
There has been a recent uptick in ERISA class actions challenging the use of 401(k) plan forfeitures. Forfeitures are employer contributions that participants forfeit when they leave employment before those contributions vest...more
1/24/2025
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Contributions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Forfeiture ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan ,
Risk Management ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Vesting
Chavez v. Plan Benefit Services, Inc., 108 F.4th 297 (5th Cir. 2024), began when three employees of a single employer sued the service providers of their health and welfare benefit plan for allegedly charging excessive fees...more
10/31/2024
/ Article III ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Standing
The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas issued its written decision in Shipp v. Central States Manufacturing, Inc. on July 5, 2024, declining to dismiss the case against Central States Manufacturing Inc....more
Multi-employer plan participants involved in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) class action lawsuit against Horizon Actuarial Services LLC (Horizon), a national retirement services firm, have entered...more
4/2/2024
/ Best Practices ,
Class Action ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Breach ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Multi-Employer Pensions ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Plan Participants ,
Popular ,
Security and Privacy Controls ,
Security Risk Assessments ,
Sensitive Personal Information ,
Settlement
As previously discussed, courts continue to disagree over the enforceability of mandatory arbitration provisions containing class action waivers set forth in benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
11/9/2023
/ Arbitration ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ESOP ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Split of Authority ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
Following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University, courts around the country continue to articulate the pleading requirements for a breach of duty of prudence claim under the Employee Retirement...more
9/23/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Colleges ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Management Fees ,
Plan Participants ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Transaction Fees ,
Universities
Historically, courts around the country have approached the enforceability of class action waivers and arbitration provisions in ESOP and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plan documents differently,...more
9/8/2022
/ Arbitration ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Plan Documents ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Statutory Remedies
Since late July, at least 10 lawsuits have been filed against large 401(k) plan sponsors that offer certain BlackRock Inc. target-date funds (TDF) among their investment options. In an unexpected pivot away from the 401(k)...more
9/1/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
BlackRock ,
Class Action ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Index Funds ,
Mutual Funds ,
Retirement Plan ,
Target Date Funds
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a petition for certiorari in First Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company v. Giorgio Armani Corporation. Although the headlines typically come when the Supreme Court issues an opinion, its...more
The U.S. Department of Labor has issued a stark warning to ERISA fiduciaries about offering cryptocurrencies and related products as potential investment options for plan participants. In Compliance Assistance Release No....more
In Hughes v. Northwestern University, current and former participants in Northwestern University's defined-contribution retirement plans filed litigation on behalf of the plans' participants asserting that the University, its...more
2/25/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS
Courts around the country continue to approach the enforceability of class-action waivers and arbitration provisions in ERISA plan documents differently. This alert discusses recent decisions addressing these issues in ERISA...more
In Halperin v. Richards, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit considered whether the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempted certain state-law corporate liability claims against officers...more
8/24/2021
/ Breach of Duty ,
Business Valuations ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Corporate Liability ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
ERISA Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Fiduciary ,
Financial Adviser ,
Preemption ,
State Law Claims
For the first time, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has released cybersecurity guidance aimed at protecting workers' retirement benefits. The guidance, which was released...more
7/1/2021
/ Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Practices ,
CBSA ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
New Guidance ,
Plan Administrators ,
Plan Participants ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Voluntary Self-Audit
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) officially withdrew a Trump-era rule that had been announced to clarify independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The repeal took effect on May 6, 2021. The...more
Courts have struggled through the years when considering the enforceability of mandatory class action waivers and arbitration provisions contained within Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) plans and other...more
4/1/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Breach of Duty ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Contract Terms ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employment Contract ,
ERISA Litigation ,
ESOP ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Compel ,
Split of Authority ,
Unenforceable Contract Terms
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed on March 11, 2021, withdrawing the independent contractor and joint employer final rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The independent contractor final rule provides...more
3/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Comment Period ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Public Comment ,
Trump Administration ,
Wage and Hour
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a potentially landmark decision in Swales v. KLLM Transport Services, L.L.C. on Jan. 12, 2021, rejecting more than 30 years of case law related to conditional...more
1/18/2021
/ Appeals ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Collective Actions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Notice Requirements ,
Rules of Civil Procedure
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in an issue of first impression, has answered a critical question in Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime disputes: "Who has the burden of proof on whether bonuses are...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has dismissed a putative class action lawsuit brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) by a participant of 401(k) plan against the...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California entered summary judgment on July 6, 2020, in favor of defendants who sold stock to an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and faced liability under the Employee...more