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Benefits
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June 05, 2025
9th Circ. Broadens Test For ERISA Claim Releases
The Ninth Circuit on Thursday reversed a finding that releases signed by two former microchip manufacturer employees bar them from leading a class action over claims the company illegally revoked its severance program, finding that the court should consider whether the company breached its fiduciary duty in obtaining the releases.
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June 05, 2025
Red States Double Down On Bid To Stymie Trans Health Rule
More than a dozen Republican attorneys general challenging a Biden-era rule that protected gender-affirming care under the Affordable Care Act said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can't keep the rule on the books just because the new administration is unlikely to enforce it.
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June 05, 2025
4 AGs Urge FDA To Lift Abortion Pill Restrictions
Attorneys general from California, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey on Thursday urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to lift restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, saying they aren't necessary under statutory requirements for an FDA drug safety program.
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June 05, 2025
Liberty Mutual Must Face Retirement Plan Class Action
Liberty Mutual can't knock out a class action claiming it saddled its employee 401(k) plan with high fees and deficient investment options, a Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday, saying workers had demonstrated the company's actions cost them money.
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June 05, 2025
NJ Judge Trims Pool Equipment Maker Shareholder Suit
A New Jersey federal judge has dismissed some claims in a proposed investor class action alleging pool supply company Hayward Holdings Inc. concealed it was struggling with ballooning inventory and lowered demand, but ruled that some of the claims, including the claims against the company's consortium, can continue.
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June 05, 2025
Attorney's FMLA Suit Against Va. City Headed To Trial
A former Virginia city assistant attorney's Family and Medical Leave Act suit against the chief city prosecutor will head to trial, a federal judge said Thursday, ruling that there is an open question over whether firing the attorney was a pretext to not grant a leave request.
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June 05, 2025
CVS Sued Over Health Plan's Tobacco, Spousal Surcharges
A CVS employee brought the pharmacy retailer into California state court Wednesday alleging in a proposed class action it discriminatorily imposes illegal surcharges to its health insurance participants who use tobacco or want to add their spouses to their plans as dependents, in violation of state and federal benefits laws.
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June 05, 2025
Walgreens Says No Standing In Suit Over Tobacco Surcharge
Walgreens is urging an Illinois federal court to throw out a suit from an employee alleging it illegally imposes a tobacco surcharge on employees in its healthcare program, saying the program complies with federal regulations, and the employee has no standing because she declined to participate in the program.
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June 05, 2025
DOL Benefits Arm Needs Turnaround, Nominee Tells Senators
President Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor's employee benefits division told a Senate panel Thursday to prepare for an overhaul of the subagency if he's confirmed, vowing to change the direction of enforcement, regulation and more.
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June 05, 2025
Justices Fault Wis. For Denying Tax Break To Charities
Wisconsin discriminated against a group of Catholic charities when it denied them an unemployment tax exemption, the U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday, rejecting the state's argument that the charities were not operated primarily for religious purposes.
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June 04, 2025
Calif. Won't Get Insulin Pricing Case Sent Back To State Court
The New Jersey federal judge overseeing multidistrict litigation accusing Express Scripts, CVS Caremark and other pharmacy benefit managers of conspiring to fix the prices of insulin on Wednesday refused to ship a case brought by the state of California back to state court.
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June 04, 2025
3 Ways DOL Benefits Chief Nominee May Affect ERISA Cases
A key committee will decide Thursday whether to send President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the U.S. Department of Labor’s employee benefits arm ahead for a full Senate vote, setting the stage for what attorneys expect will be an employer-friendly shift in policies. Here are three ways Daniel Aronowitz could change benefits litigation if confirmed.
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June 04, 2025
Heart Device Maker iRhythm Gets Investor Claims Trimmed
A California federal judge has trimmed a class action accusing digital healthcare company iRhythm Technologies of making false and misleading statements about its heart-event monitoring device, finding that the suit does not plausibly plead knowledge of wrongdoing for most individual defendants, among other things.
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June 04, 2025
Judge Halts Fla. Law Over Medicaid Ballot Initiative Concerns
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday blocked state officials from enforcing part of a new law that opponents say threatens to criminalize those collecting signatures for a 2026 ballot initiative to expand Medicaid access.
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June 04, 2025
NJ Man Cops To Dodging $2M Tax Bill On Real Estate
A New Jersey man linked to an intricate pension plan scheme involving refunds from the Dutch government pled guilty to evading more than $2.4 million in U.S. taxes by concealing ownership of more than $5.5 million in real estate, the U.S. Department of Justice said Wednesday.Â
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June 04, 2025
DC Judge Weighs Harm In Teen Program Funding Fight
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday seemed unconvinced by Planned Parenthood's assertion that new federal grant requirements for a public health initiative aimed at preventing teen pregnancy are harmful enough to warrant a preliminary injunction.
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June 04, 2025
Compliance Chiefs Eye New Jobs Amid Pay Growth Slowdown
More than half of chief compliance officers are considering seeking new job opportunities in the coming year, according to a Wednesday report from in-house legal and compliance advisory firm BarkerGilmore LLC, which also found CCO pay growth generally slowed down compared to last year.
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June 03, 2025
BlackRock, Vanguard Want Red States' Coal Suit Extinguished
Asset managers BlackRock Inc. and The Vanguard Group Inc. have urged a Texas federal judge to toss a suit brought by a coalition of Republican-led states alleging the firms ran a scheme to drive up coal prices as part of an "investment cartel," arguing the case rests on "implausible premises."
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June 03, 2025
6th Circ. Denies PBMs' Privilege Claim In Opioid MDL
A Sixth Circuit panel on Tuesday denied a petition from Cigna's Express Scripts and UnitedHealth's Optum seeking to reverse discovery orders allowing certain personnel files and internal communications into the multidistrict opioid litigation, finding that the two pharmacy benefit managers failed to show extraordinary abuses justifying relief.
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June 03, 2025
Plan Providers Must Face DOJ Overpayment Suit, Judge Says
A Maine federal judge refused to let five military healthcare plan providers escape a False Claims Act suit alleging that they knowingly pocketed millions of dollars that were overpaid, holding that U.S. Department of Justice claims against them pass muster for now.
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June 03, 2025
InnovAge To Pay $27M To Resolve IPO Investors' Suit
InnovAge Holding Corp. and a class of stockholders have agreed to a $27 million settlement to resolve claims that the senior-health care company made misleading statements in an initial public offering that later caused stock prices to tank after a government audit exposed the falsehoods.
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June 03, 2025
Feds Extend Pause On Fight Over Short-Term Insurance Regs
The Trump administration can have more time to develop a replacement for regulations that made it harder to offer short-term health insurance plans, a Texas federal judge said, rejecting a trade group's argument that keeping their legal challenge on ice wasn't justified.
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June 03, 2025
WTO Useful For China Enforcement, US Trade Nominee Says
The U.S. should work with partners at the World Trade Organization to apply further trade pressure on China, making sure the country is complying with rules and trading fairly, a Skadden partner nominated by President Donald Trump to represent the U.S. at the WTO told lawmakers Tuesday.
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June 03, 2025
Fired CFO Can't Sue To Collect Bonuses, Conn. Court Told
The ex-vice president and chief financial officer of an adhesive and fastener company is not entitled to collect nearly $300,000 in bonuses because he was not employed on the date they became payable and nothing prevented him from being terminated, according to a motion to dismiss his federal lawsuit with prejudice.
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June 03, 2025
Software Co. Settles Workers' Suit Over Lagging 401(k) Funds
Software company ServiceNow told a California court Tuesday that it has agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging the business cost workers millions in savings by failing to trim underperforming target-date funds from its 401(k) plan.
Expert Analysis
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Opinion
Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
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Series
Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.
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Tobacco Surcharge Suits Spotlight Wellness Reg Compliance
A mounting wave of tobacco-user surcharge litigation against employee benefit plans highlights compliance challenges associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act wellness regulations, and reminds plan sponsors to ask existential questions about the utility of their wellness programs, say Finn Pressly and Lesley Wolf at Ballard Spahr.
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What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.
Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.
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Opinion
Legal Institutions Must Warn Against Phony Election Suits
With two weeks until the election, bar associations and courts have an urgent responsibility to warn lawyers about the consequences of filing unsubstantiated lawsuits claiming election fraud, says Elise Bean at the Carl Levin Center for Oversight and Democracy.
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How Cos. Can Build A Strong In-House Pro Bono Program
During this year’s pro bono celebration week, companies should consider some key pointers to grow and maintain a vibrant in-house program for attorneys to provide free legal services for the public good, says Mary Benton at Alston & Bird.
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Series
Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
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How Project 2025 Could Upend Federal ESG Policies
If implemented, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's policy playbook for a Republican presidential administration, would likely seek to deploy antitrust law to target ESG initiatives, limit pension fund managers' focus to pecuniary factors and spell doom for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate rule, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Opinion
Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan
Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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8 Childhood Lessons That Can Help You Be A Better Attorney
A new school year is underway, marking a fitting time for attorneys to reflect on some fundamental life lessons from early childhood that offer a framework for problems that no legal textbook can solve, say Chris Gismondi and Chris Campbell at DLA Piper.
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2 Rulings Show How Courts Assess Health Benefit Denials
Two recent decisions from federal appeals courts offer important insights into how courts are assessing denials of health benefit claims brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, including guidance on how plan administrators should evaluate claims and what documents must be disclosed, says Mark DeBofsky at DeBofsky Law.