BENEFIT PLAN DEVELOPMENTSSixth Circuit Holds That Arbitration Mandates Not Enforceable Unless Included in Plan Document
In Hawkins v. Cintas Corporation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that an arbitration clause included in an individual employment agreement was insufficient to compel arbitration of class action claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The Sixth Circuit held that claims under ERISA “belong” to the plan and arbitration cannot be compelled without the plan’s consent. In…
Continue Reading Benefits Counselor – June 2022

HEALTH PLAN DEVELOPMENTSNew Safe Harbor for Transparency In Coverage Rule’s In-Network Machine-Readable File
The Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Treasury (the Departments) recently announced a limited enforcement safe harbor for the in-network medical machine-readable file required under the Transparency in Coverage Final Rule (the Rule).
Under the Rule, non-grandfathered group health plans and health insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered coverage in the group and individual markets must disclose, on a public website, information regarding…
Continue Reading Benefits Counselor – May 2022

The Florida legislature has passed Florida HB7, the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act” (the Act), which was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on April 22, 2022. The Act places limitations on what employers may teach during workplace diversity training. It is the first law of its kind in the nation.
What the Act Does
The Act makes it unlawful for Florida employers with 15 or more employees to subject any individual, as a condition of employment, to workplace training, instruction or…
Continue Reading Florida’s “Stop W.O.K.E. Act” Will Change Employer’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Efforts

RETIREMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENTSIRS Publishes Proposed Regulations Regarding Required Minimum Distributions
On February 24, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed regulations addressing the calculation and payment of required minimum distributions (RMDs) under qualified retirement plans (the Proposed Regulations). The Proposed Regulations are generally designed to address the changes to a participant’s required beginning date and payment of death benefits enacted under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the SECURE Act). While the proposed regulations are…
Continue Reading Benefits Counselor – March 2022

In a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the court explained how an employer should evaluate whether a disabled person under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) would pose a “direct threat” to others.Background
Russell Pontinen, the plaintiff, suffered from a seizure disorder that caused three or four seizures in his lifetime. He started taking medication to control the seizures, but later stopped against his doctor’s advice.
Shortly afterwards, he applied for a…
Continue Reading Court Finds an Employee’s Seizures Posed a “Direct Threat” Under the ADA

In 2017, the #MeToo movement exploded into the legal and political worlds, following high-profile allegations of sexual harassment. Five years later, it has led to bipartisan support of one of the most significant legislative changes in arbitration law since the Federal Arbitration Act was first enacted in 1925.The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4445, the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act,” on February 7, 2022; the Senate subsequently approved the legislation on February 10,…
Continue Reading Mandatory Arbitration Will No Longer Be Enforceable Against Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Claims