SmithKline Settles Class Action Suit
October 15, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - SmithKline Beecham Corp. has agreed to a $5.2 million settlement with a group who filed a class action suit contending that the company...
Compliance
COBRA Notice Suit Misfiled
October 15, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit over inadequate continuing health coverage notices under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), saying...
Court: Look to Employer as ERISA Plan Administrator
October 15, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A Connecticut federal judge has thrown out a denial of health-care coverage lawsuit against Aetna Life Insurance Co., saying the employer's third-party administrator...
Telephone Call Not Enough to Alter Insurance Beneficiary
October 15, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A US District Court of Massachusetts judge has ruled that a telephone call to an insurer is not enough to change beneficiary status...
Texas HMO ERISA Pre-Emption Battle Reaches an End
October 14, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A long-running legal dispute over whether federal benefits law pre-empts state statutes in health-care coverage disputes has drawn to a close with a...
Husband Cannot Have Access to Ex-Wife's 401(k) Assets
October 14, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A bankruptcy court in North Carolina has ruled that a former husband does not have an enforceable lien on his ex-wife's 401(k) funds...
Fiduciary Cannot Recoup Legal Costs after Failed Participant Suit, Court Says
October 14, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A federal district court judge has ruled that a fiduciary that has been unsuccessfully sued by plan participants cannot recover legal fees incurred...
US Supreme Court Steers Clear of Denny's Vacation Dispute
October 13, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The nation's highest court on Tuesday sidestepped an effort by a national restaurant company to rule on whether it must pay its workers...
Court Rules that ERISA Preempts State Statute
October 12, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Citing a Supreme Court decision as precedent, an Ohio Court of Appeals has ruled that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) preempts...
$1.8 Million Awarded in Discrimination Case
October 12, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A California jury has awarded a former executive of software manufacturer Sybase Inc. $1.8 million over charges of racial discrimination.
American Jobs Creation Act Includes Non Qual Changes
October 12, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - By a vote of 69 to 17, the US Senate approved HR 4520 on Monday, which will, among other things, change the tax...
Miller Bill Would Block Pension 'Dumping'
October 12, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A prominent California Democrat has introduced a measure that would block companies that don't fund their pension plans or convert them to cash...
Plan Distribution Suit Dismissed on Technical Grounds
October 12, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A California federal court judge has thrown out a lawsuit by the domestic partner of a dead participant in the Charles Schwab &...
Form 5500 Florida Filers Get Hurricane Extension
October 8, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has extended the deadline for filing Form 5500 and Form 5500 EZ because...
Court: Kidney Function an ADA 'Major Life Activity'
October 7, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A former Wal-Mart employee who lost her job after suffering kidney failure can sue the giant retailer because "cleansing the blood and processing...
Court: Life Insurance Co. Not an Administrator despite SPD Claim
October 7, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Despite being named as an 'administrator' in a health plan's summary plan document (SPD), a life insurance company cannot be sued under the...
PBGC Head Forecasts 'Significantly Increased' Shortfall
October 7, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)'s deficit should be "significantly increased" from its record $11.2 billion 2003 shortfall, the agency's director said in...
Bush Signs Fourth Tax Bill in Four Years
October 6, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - President Bush, in the midst of a hard-fought reelection campaign, stopped Monday in Iowa to sign his fourth tax cut in as many...
Class Action Granted Against Merrill Lynch in WorldCom Case
October 6, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A US District Court judge has granted class action status to WorldCom Inc. 401(k) plan participants, who allege that the plan's directed trustee...
Steelworkers to Appeal Shutdown Benefits Ruling
October 6, 2004 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The United Steelworkers of America (USWA) will challenge a federal appeals court ruling from last week that denied shutdown benefits to thousands of...