Benefits

  • September 16, 2026

    Express Scripts Seeks To Exit AIDS Group's Drug Rate Suit

    Express Scripts called on a Washington federal judge to toss a lawsuit accusing it of using its market power to bully the AIDS Healthcare Foundation into accepting lower reimbursement rates for life-saving drugs, contending Tuesday that the case rehashes allegations a Missouri federal court has already rejected twice.

  • September 16, 2026

    1st Circ. Seems Torn Over Health Plan Surcharge For Smokers

    A First Circuit panel appeared divided Wednesday over whether a casino company is required to refund tobacco use fees after smokers on the company's health plan complete a tobacco cessation program.

  • September 16, 2026

    4th Circ. Doubts Standing In $9B Lockheed Pension Fight

    The Fourth Circuit appeared open Wednesday to shutting down retirees' challenge to a $9 billion Lockheed Martin pension risk transfer, with judges voicing doubt about a Maryland judge's holding that ex-Lockheed workers had the standing needed to keep their case in court.

  • September 16, 2026

    JB Hunt Reaches Deal To End Tobacco Fee Class Action

    Trucking company J.B. Hunt has struck a deal to settle a proposed class action alleging workers who used tobacco were wrongly charged $15 per week more for healthcare, parties told an Arkansas federal court in a joint filing on Wednesday.

  • September 16, 2026

    11th Circ. Asked To Overturn $184K ACA Employer Penalty

    A commercial laundry services company asked the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a Florida federal court's ruling that upheld a $184,000 payment to the IRS under the Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility provisions, saying it didn't receive notice of the penalty soon enough to lodge an effective appeal.

  • September 16, 2026

    Liberty Mutual Escapes Suit Over Forfeited 401(k) Funds

    Liberty Mutual dodged a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully used forfeited 401(k) funds to benefit itself rather than covering expenses paid by plan participants, with a California federal judge finding the plan's terms required the money to be used to offset future employer contributions.

  • September 15, 2026

    Ogletree Continues West Coast Hires With Jackson Lewis Atty

    Labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has landed a seasoned litigator from Jackson Lewis P.C. with extensive experience in ERISA and employment law matters, the firm announced Monday.

  • September 15, 2026

    Express Scripts Accused Of Shorting Independent Pharmacies

    A dozen independent Arkansas pharmacies on Tuesday hauled Express Scripts into Missouri state court, accusing the pharmacy benefit management giant of continuously shorting them on prescription reimbursements despite Arkansas' efforts to combat underpayments.

  • September 15, 2026

    Dems Block Crypto Bill Over Ethics Concerns

    The Senate on Tuesday failed to clear a procedural hurdle for the Clarity Act, which was primed to be the first comprehensive federal regulatory framework for digital asset markets, as Democrats said the ethics guardrails were not strong enough.

  • September 15, 2026

    Mich. AG Says PBMs Put Opioid Profits Before Patient Safety

    Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has asked a federal court not to dismiss the state's lawsuit accusing pharmacy benefit managers including Express Scripts and Optum of abetting the opioid epidemic, arguing the PBMs are not passive administrators, but profit-driven architects of the crisis.

  • September 15, 2026

    Texas Justices Push Old Republic On $4M Lien After Explosion

    Texas Supreme Court justices on Tuesday questioned whether Old Republic Insurance Co. had the right to collect $4 million on a subrogation lien from workers who were injured in a plywood mill explosion, suggesting that the statute at hand didn't seem to support the insurer's argument.

  • September 15, 2026

    Burger King Owner Inks $18M Deal In Suit Over $1B Buyout

    Burger King and Popeyes owner Restaurant Brands International Inc. has reached an $18.2 million deal with shareholders who say they were "materially uninformed" about the true value of the company's 2024 $1 billion buyout of fast food franchisee Carrols Restaurant Group Inc.

  • September 15, 2026

    Workers Want Investment Bank Pay Suit To Go On

    An investment-banking enterprise and two managing directors are asking a Texas federal judge to resolve factual questions about workers' exempt status too early in the case, the employees argued, pushing the judge to keep their wage suit alive.

  • September 15, 2026

    Charter Can't Escape Ex-Workers' 401(k) Forfeiture Suit

    A proposed class action against Charter Communications Inc. alleging the company misspent forfeitures from an employee 401(k) plan can partly move ahead, a Missouri federal judge said, holding that retirement plan participants plausibly alleged the company breached its fiduciary duties in violation of federal benefits law.

  • September 15, 2026

    Ex-Dem Rep. Gets Time Served In Benefits Fraud Scheme

    Former Georgia state Rep. Dexter Sharper has been sentenced to time served by a federal judge who also ordered him to pay back thousands of dollars in unemployment benefits he lied to collect during the coronavirus pandemic.

  • September 15, 2026

    AIG Can Depose Former Texas Fraud Chief In Conduent Trial

    AIG can depose the former chief of the Civil Medicaid Fraud Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office as part of a trial to determine if the $236 million Medicaid settlement between the office and Conduent State Healthcare LLC was the result of fraud, a Delaware state court ruled.

  • September 15, 2026

    White & Case Adds Sullivan & Cromwell Employment, M&A Pro

    White & Case LLP announced Monday that it has added a longtime Sullivan & Cromwell LLP attorney to its New York office, touting the expertise she brings to its transactional and employment teams.

  • September 14, 2026

    9th Circ. Rejects Challenge To Wash. Abortion Coverage Law

    Revisiting a church's First Amendment challenge to a Washington law mandating that certain health insurance plans include abortion coverage, a divided Ninth Circuit panel Monday concluded that the Cedar Park Assembly of God failed to point to evidence that Washington's Reproductive Parity Act targets religious conduct.

  • September 14, 2026

    ERISA Smoking Suit Must Be Arbitrated, Dollar General Says

    The Sixth Circuit should scuttle a proposed Employee Retirement Income Security Act class action against Dollar General by reviving and granting the company's motion to compel individual arbitration, Dollar General argued, saying a Tennessee federal judge didn't follow the right procedure when dispensing with the motion.

  • September 14, 2026

    Atty Says NFL Parkinson's Claims Ban Lacked Due Process

    An attorney barred from representing claimants seeking NFL concussion settlement funds was denied basic due process during an audit of his work, he has argued in asking the Pennsylvania federal court to vacate his sanctions.

  • September 14, 2026

    Pa. Top Court Snapshot: Ex-Sacks Weston Atty Discipline Case

    The Pennsylvania Supreme Court returns from its summer recess with arguments on exceptions to sovereign immunity, and which criteria to apply to an immigrant seeking in-home care benefits.

  • September 14, 2026

    Aetna Tells 5th Circ. DOL Can't Block Aramark Suit Arbitration

    Aetna Life Insurance Co. urged the Fifth Circuit on Monday against the U.S. Department of Labor's argument that uniform company Aramark Services Inc.'s health claims dispute with the insurer should remain in court, arguing a Texas judge erred in declining to enforce the parties' binding arbitration agreement.

  • September 14, 2026

    National Instruments Reaches $28M Deal Over Hidden Bids

    National Instruments Corp., two former executives and a class of investors have reached a $28 million deal to resolve claims that the company repurchased stock while concealing from investors that it was considering being acquired.

  • September 14, 2026

    Detroit, Firefighters Union Win Seniority Appeal

    The city of Detroit and its firefighters union have defeated the remaining claims of two firefighters who challenged their treatment after returning from disability retirement, with a Michigan state appeals court finding their claims either conflicted with seniority rules adopted during the city's bankruptcy or lacked sufficient support.

  • September 14, 2026

    Leidos Settles Ex-Worker's Tobacco Fee Suit

    Information technology company Leidos has struck a deal to settle an ex-worker's proposed class action alleging violations of federal benefits law over a roughly $600-a-year health plan surcharge on employees who used tobacco, parties told a Virginia federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating The Limits Of Calif. Justices' Public Pension Ruling

    Author Photo

    Despite the California Supreme Court's recent holding that counties and cities wield discretion over classification and salary decisions for their public retirement board staff, it is important to remember that such authority is not unchecked as unreasonable rejections remain subject to judicial review, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Justices' FTC Ruling Weakens Qui Tam's Constitutional Base

    Author Photo

    The U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Trump v. Slaughter, expanding presidential control over those exercising executive power, suggests that courts may be receptive to arguments challenging the constitutional foundations of the False Claims Act’s qui tam mechanism, says Daniel Passeser at Wiggin.

  • Series

    Being A Sommelier Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Being a sommelier has quietly shaped how I practice law by changing the way I think, communicate and connect with people, and offers a constant reminder that expertise is about making your knowledge useful and accessible to others, says Kara Du at Sheppard.

  • A Shift In How Policymakers Are Approaching PBM Regulation

    Author Photo

    Recent federal and state legislative and regulatory activity involving pharmacy benefit managers represent a change in focus from transparency to PBM compensation structures, vertical integration and competitive effects, say attorneys at Barclay Damon.

  • Opinion

    States Should Reconsider Forced PBM Divestiture Laws

    Author Photo

    State legislatures are attempting to enact policies intended to force pharmacy benefit managers to divest from pharmacies, but these laws would have the practical effect of reducing patient access and competition, potentially violating the U.S. Constitution in the process, says former Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

  • Series

    Teaching SEC Investigations Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Instructing a law school course on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigations has made me a more thoughtful, deliberate practitioner because it requires me to continually reassess and challenge what I know about securities law enforcement, how I know it and how best to explain it, says David Chase at Miami Law.

  • Series

    Judges On AI: Examining Administrative, Organizational Uses

    Author Photo

    U.S. District Judge Alan Albright of the Western District of Texas examines how artificial intelligence could transform a court's ability to deal with administrative work and organize materials when preparing for hearings or drafting opinions, thereby affording judges more time to resolve contested issues.

  • Series

    Being A Singer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Before law school, I spent seven years trying to make it as a professional singer in Los Angeles, and nearly everything I learned about preparation, humility, confidence and more has followed me into my legal practice, says Jessica Caterina at Moses & Singer.

  • 3rd Circ. ERISA Ruling Stresses Process Over Perfect Returns

    Author Photo

    The Third Circuit's recent decision in Quest Diagnostics affirms that a sound fiduciary process — not perfect investment returns — defeats Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims, signaling that courts will keep scrutinizing how fiduciaries decide, and sponsors who can show their work should remain protected, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.

  • Series

    Being A Magician Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    The skills I've developed as a lifelong magician have translated directly into tangible benefits in the courtroom because performing magic and trying cases both live at the intersection of psychology, storytelling, timing and disciplined rehearsal, says Mark Dombroff at Fox Rothschild.

  • Del. Dispatch: The New 'Director Independence' Definition

    Author Photo

    The Delaware Court of Chancery's recent decision in Ayers v. Foley, its first interpretation and application of "director independence" as outlined in Section 144 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, suggests that the court will not limit the new section's reach, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • A New Regulatory Environment For PE In Calif. Healthcare

    Author Photo

    The California Office of Health Care Affordability's proposed revisions to its cost and market impact review regulations, amid broader state scrutiny of private equity-backed healthcare arrangements, represent a qualitative shift in California's regulatory posture toward institutional healthcare investment, say attorneys at Ropes & Gray.

  • Series

    Bass Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Landing a trophy striped bass and closing a big deal both require cultivating the patience to finesse — not force — your way to desired outcomes, changing course when your old approach isn’t working and learning from the ones that got away, says Jon Ruiss at Alston & Bird.

  • Roundup

    The Most Talked-About Supreme Court Decisions Of 2026

    Author Photo

    This term, 11 U.S. Supreme Court decisions quickly became hot topics among Law360's guest writers.

  • Series

    Choral Singing Makes Me A Better Lawyer

    Author Photo

    Singing in the New York City Bar Chorus — a hobby partly inspired by the late U.S. District Judge Richard Owen, who infused my clerkship year with opera music — has improved my legal career by refining my abilities to listen, exude confidence and develop emotional intelligence, says Bonnie Baker at Friedman Kaplan.

Want to publish in Law360?


Submit an idea

Have a news tip?


Contact us here
Can't find the article you're looking for? Click here to search the Benefits archive.