A Hong-Kong based company has filed a motion to dismiss an employment discrimination lawsuit based on unequal pay. Turkish employees allege that Imperial Pacific Casino paid them less than their Taiwanese counterparts under company policies.
In Genc et al. v. Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC et al., case number 1:22-cv-00002, which is pending before the U.S. District Court for the
A federal judge has denied a motion for a preliminary injunction by the Roosevelt Hotel, which sought to avoid paying its laid-off workers while challenging a law requiring them to do so. The ruling came in the case of RHC Operating LLC v. City Of New York et al., case number 1:21-cv-09322, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Landmark verdicts and settlements already have occurred in widespread opioid litigation against big pharmaceutical companies. That trend continues as those companies brace for yet another massive wave of trials in upcoming weeks. Calendars from March to May in some of the country’s most significant courts are packed with six opioid trials reminiscent of the first American opioid trials that began
The Coca-Cola Co. has confirmed that it will not move forward with a controversial diversity initiative that would have required its outside counsel to apportion some work to Black attorneys and attorneys from other underrepresented groups.
Bradley Gaston, former general counsel for Coca-Cola, announced the diversity initiative in January 2021. Under the initiative, the overarching goal was for diverse billing
President Biden recently revealed his $5.8 trillion budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which includes $14.6 in discretionary spending for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and mandatory funding. Much of this spending is devoted toward developing new policies to guarantee better health care coverage for mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment. The DOL also would have enhanced enforcement
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has reversed a pair of major rulings by a California federal district court. Those rulings would have required UnitedHealth Group Inc. to reprocess thousands of mental health and substance abuse claims, due to its application of improper coverage guidelines. The 9th Circuit disagreed, finding that the insurance company’s
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently sent a letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals, for the 7th Circuit, urging the court to vacate its dismissal of an ERISA class action concerning Northwestern University’s 403(b) retirement plan. The case at issue is Laura Divane et al. v. Northwestern University et al., case number 18-2569.
An Illinois federal district court
Plan sponsors must understand the intersection of claims procedures under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), and the mandate to keep individually identifiable health information confidential, under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This understanding is particularly important when plan sponsors receive letters or requests for information from third parties. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Capital One Financial Corp. has filed a motion to dismiss an ERISA suit, arguing that there is insufficient evidence that it mismanaged its 401(k) plan. In Morales v. Capital One Financial Corp. et al., case number 1:21-cv-01454, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the proposed class of Capital One 401(k) plan participants claims that Capital One violated
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 on March 10, 2022. This release warns plan fiduciaries to exercise extreme caution before adding a cryptocurrency investment option to their 401(k) plan’s investment menu for participants.
Fiduciary Duties Under ERISA
ERISA fiduciaries must exercise a professional standard of care, prudence,