ERISA does not have a statute of limitations for lawsuits brought by participants to check claim benefits under the plan. Instead, courts borrow from similar state statutes of limitations. In a decision two years ago, the US Supreme Court upheld a disability plan’s one year limitations period, allowing the plan to impose that limitation rather
Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE
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Supreme Court: 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Have an Ongoing Duty to Monitor
By Jeffrey Cairns on
In April 2013 I reported on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Tibble v. Edison International, which involved an alleged breach of fiduciary duty by the Edison 401(k) Savings Plan committee selecting six retail mutual funds when institutional share classes were available.
In the 2013 decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals…
IRS Wins One at Supreme Court: Severance Pay is Subject to FICA Tax
By Stinson LLP on
I blogged about the Quality Stores decision which at the district court and court of appeals levels held that certain severance payments were not subject to FICA (Social Security) taxes. The IRS had challenged the employer in that case and had lost in both lower courts.
At the Supreme Court level, the IRS won. The …
The Supreme Court Will Decide Whether FICA Taxes is Owed on Severance Pay
By Stinson LLP on
I blogged here and here about Quality Stores, a case in which the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held that severance pay is not subject to FICA (Social Security) taxes if certain requirements are met: The severance payments must be made pursuant to a plan, on account of an involuntary termination, and the result …
Supreme Court Strikes Down Federal Defense of Marriage Act – Open Questions for Benefit Plan Sponsors
By Jeffrey Cairns on
On June 26, 2013, in a 5-4 vote the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the 1993 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional as a violation of Fifth Amendment guarantees of equal protection and equal liberty. The case, United States v. Windsor No.12-307(US June 26, 2013) http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf dealt with the marital exclusion under the federal…
Health Care Reform – What if it is Struck Down?
By Jeffrey Cairns on
There has been much discussion and blogging about different possible outcomes from the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, it is only recently that we are starting to see articles analyzing the effect that a complete repeal might have. If the Supreme Court strikes down the entire law, all of…
Health Care Reform Challenges – Oral Arguments at the Supreme Court
By Stinson LLP on
On Monday March 26th, almost exactly two years after its enactment on March 23, 2010, the United States Supreme Court will begin the first of three days of oral arguments relating to the health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”). The Supreme Court agreed to hear six hours …