ERISA Lawyer Blog

Recent Posts from ERISA Lawyer Blog

• ERISA-DOL Now Withdraws Investment Advice Rules

  Right on the heels of delaying the effective date of its investment advice rules (see my blog of November 18), the Department of Labor (the "DOL") announced, in a press release, that it has withdrawn…

• ERISA-DOL Again Delays The Effective Date Of The Investment Advice Rules

  Back on January 21, 2009, the Department of Labor ("DOL") published final rules on the provisions of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") which permit investment advice to be given to participants and…

• Employment-OSHA Provides Information On H1N1 Influenza Precaution and Protection For The Workplace

  According to a News Release dated 11/09/09, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor ("OSHA") has issued commonsense fact sheets that employers and workers can use to promote safety during…

• ERISA-Seventh Circuit Holds That A Plan Amendment Does Not Violate ERISA's Anti-Cutback Rule

  In Wetzler v. Illinois CPA Society & Foundation Retirement Income Plan, No. 08-2923 (7th Cir. 2009), the plaintiff, Thomas Wetzler, wanted a lump-sum payment of his entire retirement benefit from the Illinois CPA Society &…

• ERISA-Tenth Circuit Rules That Plaintiff Is Not Entitled To Benefits Because She Was Not On The Company's Payroll

  In Scruggs v. ExxonMobil Pension Plan, No. 08-6145 (10th Cir. 2009), the plaintiff, Barbara Scruggs, performed secretarial services for ExxonMobil for twenty-two years until her office in Oklahoma was closed in 2005. During the entire…

• ERISA-Mass. High Court Rules That ERISA Preempts A Claim Based On Unjust Enrichment

  In Hitachi High Technologies America, Inc. v. Bowler, SJC-10386 (Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts 2009), the Court faced the question of whether ERISA preempts a State law action brought by a retirement plan fiduciary to…

• Employment-NY Issues New Forms For Notifying New Hires of Rates of Pay/Overtime

  Section 195.1 of New York State Labor Law requires that a New York employer must provide any employee, who is hired on or after October 26, 2009, with information as to the employee's: 1) regular…

• Executive Compensation-Deadline For Amending Bonus Plans Is Approaching

  IRS Revenue Ruling 2008-13 changed one of the exceptions to the $1million limit under Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") on the deductibility of bonus pay by public companies, and generally requires…

• ERISA-Eighth Circuit Rules That A Participant In A Defined Benefit Plan Cannot Sue The Fiduciaries For Investment Losses And Excess Fees When The Plan Is Overfunded

  In Mcullough v. Aegon USA, Inc., No. 08-1952 (8th Cir. 2009), the plaintiff, Randal McCullough, was a participant in a defined benefit pension plan (the "Plan") of the defendant, Aegon USA, Inc. ("Aegon"). He had…

• ERISA-Tenth Circuit Rules That A Plan Administrator's Decision To Deny Benefits Must Be Reviewed De Novo Since It Was Not Made By The Plan's Deadline

  In Rasenack v. AIG Life Insurance Company, No. 07-1521 (10th Cir. 2009), the plaintiff had requested accidental paralysis and rehabilitation benefits from AIG Life Insurance Company, the insurer, and AIG Claim Services, the plan administrator…