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1. General 1.1 General Overview of Jurisdiction The United States is the world's largest and most predominant jurisdiction for the formation of alternative funds and boasts the largest number of [...]

Last week, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Treasury issued a Joint Notice requiring the extension of certain benefit plan deadlines for individuals affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton and [...]

> In its most recent step to combat cybersecurity risks to employee benefit plans, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) clarified on September 6, 2024, that its guidance on cybersecurity [...]

On September 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01, titled 'Cybersecurity Guidance Update.' The updated guidance clarifies that the DOL cybersecurity guidance applies [...]

Chicago: Seyfarth Shaw LLP has issued the following press release: On September 6, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01, titled 'Cybersecurity Guidance Update.' [...]

Plan administrators should be aware that just because a principle is well-established under the law does not mean that people won't attempt to challenge it anyway. A good example of [...]

PHILADELPHIA: Willig, Williams & Davidson has issued the following news release: Pennsylvania labor, employment, workers' compensation, and family law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson is proud to announce that it [...]

CHICAGO: Northern Trust has issued the following news release: Global equity and fixed income markets had strong performance in the third quarter, lifting U.S. institutional plan gains across segments. The [...]

Chicago: Seyfarth Shaw LLP has issued the following press release: Seyfarth was recognized as a Tier 1 Firm Nationally by Best Law Firms in 12 separate practice areas: Bankruptcy and [...]

This publication is issued by K&L Gates in conjunction with K&L Gates Straits Law LLC, a Singapore law firm with full Singapore law and representation capacity, and to whom any [...]

As we discussed in our 2023 white paper 'ESG and Public Pension Investing in 2023: A Year-to-Date Recap and Analysis', there was a surge in legislative activity in 2023 among [...]

Highlights The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit decision regarding the proper pleading standard for prohibited transaction claims brought under [...]

DOL Extends Existing Cybersecurity Guidance to Health & Welfare Plans It's not déj- vu. And your eyes don't deceive you. As reported in the April 2021 Monthly Minute, the DOL [...]

United States District Court for the District of Utah: C. et al v. Aetna Life Insurance Company et al (Application No. 1:24-cv-78-RJS-JCB) Case Brief: C. et al v. Aetna Life [...]

As we conclude our 'Health Plan Hygiene' blog series, we reflect on the important insights shared about fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and [...]

Boston, Massachusetts: Goodwin Procter LLP has issued the following press release: Global law firm Goodwin today announced that Anna Humphrey will join the firm's ERISA and Executive Compensation practice as [...]

Highlights Three benefit companies recently requested that the U.S. Supreme Court review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit regarding the proper standard for determining [...]

CHICAGO, IL -- The following information was released by the American Medical Association (AMA): By Tanya Albert Henry , Contributing News Writer The AMA has had success advocating improvements to [...]

Key Takeaways The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 marked a crucial turning point in U.S. retirement security, laying the groundwork for employee protections that are still evolving [...]

On October 4, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to resolve a three-way circuit split regarding the pleading standard for alleged prohibited-transaction claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act [...]

A multiemployer pension plan is a collectively bargained plan maintained by more than one employer, usually within the same or related industries, and a labor union. See ERISA Sections 3(37) [...]

Key takeaway: The Supreme Court granted certiorari to address the pleading standards for prohibited-transaction claims under 29 U.S.C. § 1106(a). On October 4, 2024, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in [...]

Welcome to Goodwin's ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these cases across [...]

Due to the ever-growing threat of cybersecurity incidents affecting the health sector, the Biden administration has sought to modernize the data privacy and security regulatory environment to better align with [...]

We recognize that many companies sponsor ERISA welfare benefit plans and will soon be undergoing their open enrollment process and issuing related participant communications. To assist with that process, we [...]

A California federal judge recently refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Intuit in which retirement plan participants claim that the company misused forfeited funds from its 401(k) plan. The denial [...]

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The following information was released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): Allen Smith, J.D. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the pleading standards [...]

Recent scrutiny of pharmacy benefit managers, also known as 'PBMs,' has resulted in various lawsuits alleging that the high drug costs they charge violate ERISA. Among the first lawsuits in [...]

The following summarizes recent legal developments of note affecting the mutual fund/investment management industry. Judge Blocks Missouri Anti-ESG Rules; Missouri Withdraws Subsequent Appeal Background. In a 2023 Ropes & Gray [...]

ALEXANDRIA, VA -- The following information was released by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM): Alden J. Bianchi, Jacob M. Mattinson, and Sarah G. Raaii © McDermott Recent lawsuits [...]

In the past decade, there have been many issues that have been the subject of dozens of lawsuits challenging employee benefits - retiree medical benefit challenges, pension plan calculation cases [...]

HEALTH AND WELFARE PLAN UPDATES U.S. Departments Release Final Mental Health Parity Rule On September 9, 2024, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services and the Treasury [...]

On October 4, 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal in Cunningham v. Cornell University. The appeal involves review of a split among the United States Courts of [...]

Bank of America has become the latest employer to face a class action lawsuit alleging misuse of forfeited 401(k) funds. Retirement plan participants claim that the bank breached its fiduciary [...]

The United States and Canada are each other's largest trade partners with nearly C$3.6 billion/US$2.7 billion worth of goods and services crossing the border each day in 2023. The United [...]

Chicago: Seyfarth Shaw LLP has issued the following press release: While the ERISA legal landscape changes constantly, one thing is certain - California remains a harbinger of litigation trends soon [...]

In the past year, there have been several lawsuits that have challenged an employer's use of forfeited funds from employee 401(k) accounts to satisfy the employer's plan contributions under the [...]

Under recently finalized federal regulations (commonly referred to as the 'Fiduciary Rule') that were scheduled to become effective on September 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor intended to expand [...]

Mayer Brown partners review ruling's impact on ERISA questions Chevron doctrine's end leads to more challenges in courts The US Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo [...]

On Labor Day fifty years ago, September 2, 1974, President Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) into law. It is a combination of tax and [...]

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has upheld the dismissal of a 401(k)-plan mismanagement suit brought by plan participants in favor of Home [...]

In their article published in the Benefits Law Journal titled, ôChanges to ERISA's Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption,ö Schulte Roth & Zabel partners David Cohen and Ian Levin discuss the [...]

There is a new series of putative class action lawsuits in which the plaintiffs allege that employers that sponsor self-funded health plans with health plan premium surcharges related to tobacco [...]

A health plan's fiduciaries are responsible for administering the health plan. Because most employers are not in the business of administering health benefits, they outsource the day-to-day health plan administration [...]

Recent lawsuits have emphasized that employers who sponsor employee benefit plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) are fiduciaries. This fiduciary duty means that employers owe an increased [...]

When a company is bought, sold, merged or reorganized, unexpected employee benefits issues may surface that can significantly affect the deal structure, liabilities, and future benefit plan design for the [...]

On September 25, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action lawsuit alleging that an employer violated ERISA by [...]

RETIREMENT PLAN UPDATES IRS FAQs Address Matching Contributions Related to Student Loan Repayments On August 19, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2024 63 that provides guidance for [...]

On September 19, 2024, the Southern District of California dismissed claims brought by a 401(k) plan participant against Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. regarding the use of forfeitures to offset future [...]

The genesis of ERISA The decades before the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974 were not a blank slate. U.S. tax law already provided favorable [...]