Issue: Winter 2019

Labor & Employment

Are ERISA Cases the Next Frontier in the Ever-Expanding Realm of Arbitration? The Implications of Munro v. University of Southern California in the Ninth Circuit

By: Emily Bolt

In a legal landscape that has resoundingly embraced arbitration, a recent Ninth Circuit case stands out for applying the breaks to binding arbitration in an ERISA matter. In Munro v. University of Southern California, 2018 WL 3542996 (9th Cir. July 24, 2018), the court found that employees pursuing a putative class action lawsuit for breaches of fiduciary duty related to their retirement plans under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) could not be compelled to arbitrate the dispute, even though their employment agreements included arbitration agreements.

Labor & Employment

The Impact of External Reviews on Discretion in ERISA Health Litigation

By: Elizabeth K. Green, Kantor & Kantor LLP

The uptick in external medical reviews for ERISA health claims has potential consequences when plan administrators seek to assert a discretionary standard of review in federal court. The Affordable Care Act has increased the usage of the federal external review process, in addition to state external review programs. As the final, and optional, appeal opportunity, external reviews make medical necessity decisions which are binding on ERISA administrators. In doing so, the external reviews may result in ERISA administrators relinquishing discretionary authority over health claims.

Labor & Employment

The 2019 EBC Midwinter Meeting in Nashville

Yes, history does occasionally repeat itself, and that’s not always a bad thing. What are we talking about? The Employee Benefits Committee Midwinter Meeting, of course. This year, from February 6 through 9, we will be at the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Music City a/k/a Nashville, Tennessee.

Labor & Employment

The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel Honors its New Fellows

Outstanding employee benefits attorneys selected from throughout the country joined the College at its Nineteenth Annual Induction Dinner on September 15, 2018 at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.

Labor & Employment

2019 ACEBC Employee Benefits Simplification Award Process is Now Open for Submissions

The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel has announced that it is now accepting submissions for the 2019 Employee Benefits Simplification Award. The Award will be presented to the best original legislative proposal to simplify an aspect of employee benefits law.

Labor & Employment

As We Go To E-Press: A Few Items from the Editors of the EBC Newsletter

As is the custom, the editors have identified a few recent items worthy of mention but perhaps not extensive discourse. That does not mean these developments are unimportant but rather that they are, to a large degree, self-explanatory or both too important and too new to address fully.