Benefits

  • May 20, 2025

    Cigna Accused Of Mismanaging Retirement Plan Funds

    Cigna has been unlawfully putting its own interests above those of a 401(k) plan's participants by using forfeited plan funds to reduce company contributions, despite experiencing "significant financial performance," a putative class action filed Tuesday in Pennsylvania federal court alleges.

  • May 20, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Md. Retirees' Drug Benefits Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed Maryland's defeat of a proposed class action alleging it broke promises made to retirees when it transitioned their prescription drug benefits to Medicare Part D, saying Tuesday that a lower court was right to toss the case.

  • May 20, 2025

    J&J Workers Reassert Drug Costs Resulted In Concrete Harm

    Johnson & Johnson workers are urging a New Jersey federal court to maintain their proposed class claims that the company botched the management of prescription drug costs in its employee healthcare plan by allowing excessive pharmacy costs, asserting that company mismanagement resulted in concrete harm.

  • May 20, 2025

    Ex-Worker Accuses TIAA Of Mismanaging 401(k) Plans

    An ex-worker accused the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America of violating federal benefits law by keeping costly and underperforming fund offerings in its two employee 401(k) retirement plans, in a proposed class action lodged Tuesday in New York federal court.

  • May 20, 2025

    Awardco Nabs $1B Valuation After $165M Equity Infusion

    Goodwin Procter LLP-led Awardco, an employee rewards and recognition software company, announced Tuesday it hit a $1 billion valuation after scoring a $165 million minority investment from two private equity firms. 

  • May 20, 2025

    Indirect Chicken Buyers' Attys Seek Additional $12M In Fees

    Attorneys for commercial and institutional indirect purchaser plaintiffs in sprawling antitrust litigation against the nation's top poultry producers asked an Illinois federal judge Monday to approve roughly $12 million in additional attorney fees after they secured more than $41 million in additional deals since a prior fee motion.

  • May 20, 2025

    Nursing Homes Facing 'Corporate Death Penalty' Owe $15.4M

    The companies behind two Pittsburgh-area nursing homes convicted of falsifying staffing records were ordered Tuesday to pay a total of $15.35 million in restitution to the federal government, though the corporations' attorney told the judge that they had already received a "corporate death penalty" for their conviction.

  • May 20, 2025

    Veterans Seek Certification For VA Consultant Fee Claims

    A proposed class of veterans urged a North Carolina federal judge to certify their claims against a consulting firm they allege charged them millions in illegal fees, arguing that the individual claims of thousands all hinge on a single statutory interpretation.

  • May 19, 2025

    Vanguard $40M Deal Rejected In Investors' Tax Fight

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday rejected a $40 million proposed settlement between Vanguard and investors, blocking the investors' attorneys from netting $13 million in fees and embracing the objections of one investor who called out the deal — meant to compensate for surprise tax bills — as worthless. 

  • May 19, 2025

    Wells Fargo's 9th Circ. Cert. Challenge Gains SIFMA Backing

    A top securities industry group has voiced its support of Wells Fargo's appeal of class certification in an investor dispute alleging the bank conducted "sham" interviews to meet diversity quotas, which harmed the bank's stock price when the truth came to light.

  • May 19, 2025

    Electric, Nuclear Valve Co. Escape Pension Dispute

    A federally owned electric company and a contractor were not required to make pension fund contributions to a plumbers and steamfitters union because the contracted valve work was an exempt specialty contract, a Tennessee federal judge ruled in a lawsuit Monday.

  • May 19, 2025

    Conn. Con Man Admits To New $1.9M Medicaid Scam

    A Connecticut man has admitted to a federal charge in connection with a Medicaid scam he ran with a now-former state employee that netted nearly $1.9 million, federal prosecutors said, noting that some of the criminal activity took place while he was in prison for a different healthcare ripoff.

  • May 19, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Family's Win In Suit Over Denied Benefits

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend a guild member's win in his lawsuit challenging his healthcare plan's decision to deny coverage for his son's mental health treatments, but said a lower court was wrong to award the family additional damages on their breach of fiduciary duty claim.

  • May 19, 2025

    Coast Guard Told To Revisit Forced Retirees' Service Dates

    The U.S. Coast Guard can't retroactively apply a policy to speculate that a class of 200-plus service members who were involuntarily retired through an unlawful process would have been involuntarily retired anyway, a Court of Federal Claims judge said Friday.

  • May 19, 2025

    Atty Says Texas Firm Fired Her For Taking Protected Leave

    A former associate at a prominent Texas personal injury firm who claims she was fired after she took medical leave for a disabling eye condition and bereavement leave upon her mother's death has brought a disability discrimination suit against the firm and associated entities in federal court in Houston.

  • May 19, 2025

    X Failed To Pay Promised Severance, Ex-Workers Say

    X, the company formerly known as Twitter, illegally reneged on its promise to keep in place its policy to provide certain severance payments to terminated employees after Elon Musk took over the social media company, a lawsuit filed in Washington federal court said.

  • May 19, 2025

    Ex-Litigator Settles Disability Bias Suit Against Wilson Elser

    A former Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP litigator on Monday agreed to permanently drop his federal disability bias suit against the firm, after the sides came to a confidential resolution.

  • May 16, 2025

    Firms Eye Setoff Shielding $66M Conn. Life Insurance Policies

    Three investment companies holding PHL Variable Insurance Co. policies asked a Connecticut state court judge on Friday to allow them to set off in-force life insurance policy premiums against their $66 million in matured policies, fearing they could receive only a fraction of their investments while the state supervises the struggling insurer.

  • May 16, 2025

    SEC's Atkins Previews Possible Changes To CEO Pay Rules

    U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins announced Friday the agency plans to review rules requiring public companies to report the earnings of CEOs and other high-level executives, highlighting a possible area of regulatory change for the now Republican-led commission.

  • May 16, 2025

    HHS Says Pain Clinic's Delay Hurts $11M Bill Challenge

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday fought a pain clinic's bid in North Carolina federal court for a pretrial win in the clinic's suit challenging $11 million in overpayments for urine drug screening tests, saying the clinic waited too long to bring evidence that the testing was justified.

  • May 16, 2025

    Mich. Judge Gives Final OK To $55M Pandemic Aid Deal

    A Michigan state judge has granted final approval to a $55 million settlement between the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency and people who allege their benefits were improperly clawed back without notice during the pandemic.

  • May 16, 2025

    Intuit Strikes $2M Deal To Wrap Up 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

    Intuit will pay $2 million to end a proposed class action alleging its use of forfeited 401(k) funds to cover employer contributions rather than plan expenses violated federal benefits law, the former employee leading the suit said Friday in California federal court.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Upholds California's Employee Classification Test

    California's worker-friendly employee classification test doesn't violate the dormant commerce and equal protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution, the Ninth Circuit ruled Friday, upholding the lower court denial of a preliminary injunction.

  • May 16, 2025

    Stris & Maher Taps DOL Appellate Chief For ERISA Litigation

    Trial and appellate litigation boutique Stris & Maher LLP has expanded its Employee Retirement Income Security Act litigation practice with the addition of a veteran U.S. Department of Labor attorney.

  • May 16, 2025

    Trucking Co. Worker Says Tobacco Surcharge Violates ERISA

    An employee of Marten Transport Ltd. is suing the trucking company in Wisconsin federal court, alleging that a tobacco surcharge in its health plan violates federal antidiscrimination law.

Expert Analysis

  • E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

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    Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Series

    Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.

  • Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

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    Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.

  • Series

    Playing Esports Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Competing in a global esports tournament at Wimbledon last year not only fulfilled my childhood dream, but also sharpened skills that are essential to my day job, including strategic thinking, confidence and networking, says AJ Schuyler at Jackson Lewis.

  • An Associate's Guide To Career Development In 2025

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    As the new year begins, associates at all levels should consider establishing career metrics, fostering key relationships and employing other specific strategies to help move through the complexities of the legal profession with confidence and emerge as trailblazers, say EJ Stern and Amanda George at Fractional Law Firm.

  • What To Watch For In The 2025 Benefits Landscape

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    While planning for 2025, retirement plan sponsors and service providers should set their focus on phased implementation deadlines under both Secure 1.0 and 2.0, an upcoming U.S. Supreme Court ruling, and the fate of several U.S. Department of Labor regulations, says Allie Itami at Lathrop GPM.

  • Series

    Fixing Up Cars Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    From problem-solving to patience and adaptability to organization, the skills developed working under the hood of a car directly translate to being a more effective lawyer, says Christopher Mdeway at Kaufman Dolowich.

  • 2024 Has Been A Momentous Year For ESG

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    Significant developments in the environmental, social and governance landscape this year include new legislation, evolving global frameworks, continued litigation and enforcement actions, and a U.S. Supreme Court decision that has already affected how lower courts have viewed some ESG challenges, say attorneys at Katten.

  • Making The Pitch To Grow Your Company's Legal Team

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    In a compressed economy, convincing the C-suite to invest in additional legal talent can be a herculean task, but a convincing pitch — supported by metrics and cost analyses — may help in-house counsel justify the growth of their team, say Elizabeth Smith and Roger Garceau at Major Lindsey.

  • Musk Pay Fight Shows Investor Approval Isn't Universal Cure

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    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent denial of a motion revising its prior rescission of Elon Musk's nearly $56 billion compensation package is a reminder of the heightened standard corporate boards must meet in conflicted controller transactions and that stockholder approval doesn't automatically cure fiduciary wrongdoing, say attorneys at A&O Shearman.

  • When US Privilege Law Applies To Docs Made Outside The US

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    As globalization manifests itself in disputes over foreign-created documents, a California federal court’s recent trademark decision illustrates nuances of both U.S. privilege frameworks and foreign evidentiary protections that attorneys must increasingly bear in mind, say attorneys at Hunton.

  • Ring In The New Year With An Updated Employee Handbook

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    One of the best New Year's resolutions employers can make is to update their employee handbooks, given that a handbook can mitigate, or even prevent, costly litigation as long as it accounts for recent changes in laws, court rulings and agency decisions, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • What 2024 Trends In Marketing, Comms Hiring Mean For 2025

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    The state of hiring in legal industry marketing, business development and communications over the past 12 months was marked by a number of trends — from changes in the C-suite to lateral move challenges — providing clues for what’s to come in the year ahead, says Ben Curle at Ambition.

  • Series

    Group Running Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The combination of physical fitness and community connection derived from running with a group of business leaders has, among other things, helped me to stay grounded, improve my communication skills, and develop a deeper empathy for clients and colleagues, says Jessica Shpall Rosen at Greenwald Doherty.

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