Today, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug mifepristone, which is used as part of a two-drug protocol to induce abortion. The Court ruled that the providers seeking to overturn the FDA approval did not have standing, because the providers were not directly
District Court Holds Plan Cannot File Suit in Contravention of Trust Agreement
In Buckner v. Murray, No. 21-cv-567, 2024 WL 1366785 (D.D.C. Mar. 30, 2024), the court dismissed the United Mine Workers of America 1974 Pension Plan’s suit to collect $6.5 billion in withdrawal liability because the trustees did not file suit in accordance with the plan’s trust agreement. After the contributing employer filed for bankruptcy
A Pop Culture Guide to the Final Amendments to the QPAM Exemption Taking Effect on June 17, 2024
The DOL recently finalized amendments to the QPAM exemption that will considerably alter the exemption’s conditions effective as of June 17, 2024 (for a detailed summary of the changes, please see our post here). There are a number of immediate action items for investment managers and ERISA plan fiduciaries under the revised exemption, so
[Podcast]: Activism and EBEC
In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, David Teigman, partner in the Tax Department and a member of the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Group, Josh Apfelroth, partner in the Private Equity and Mergers & Acquisitions Group and Nick LaSpina, senior counsel in the Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group discuss shareholder activism in the public company context and more specifically within the framework of executive compensation. Because executive compensation can be a hot‑button topic for shareholders and can be implicated in a variety of activist situations, be sure to tune in for the latest insights into these matters.
District Court Dismisses Class Action Seeking Wilderness Therapy Benefits
A federal district court rebuffed putative class claims alleging that Cigna Health and Life Insurance Co. and two of the plans it administered violated the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (“MHPAEA”) by denying coverage for wilderness therapy. S.F. v. CIGNA Health & Life Ins. Co., 2024 WL 1912359 (D. Utah
Final HIPAA Privacy Rule Increases Protection of Reproductive Health Care Data
The Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) at the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) recently issued final regulations (“Reproductive Health Care Rule”) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) that narrow the permitted uses and disclosures of protected health information (“PHI”) in the context of an individual seeking, obtaining, providing
In Split Ruling Second Circuit Declines to Compel Arbitration of ERISA Plan Claims
They say that April showers bring May flowers, but there were no flowers for ERISA plan sponsors and fiduciaries on May 1 when the Second Circuit held, in a ruling that provoked a vigorous dissenting opinion, that an ERISA plan’s arbitration provision was not enforceable because it required the plan participant to forgo his statutory
Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of 401(k) Fees Claims
The Fifth Circuit recently reversed a district court’s dismissal of claims that the fiduciaries of a 401(k) plan breached the duty of prudence under ERISA by offering participants retail share classes instead of cheaper institutional share classes, and causing the plan to pay allegedly excessive recordkeeping fees. The decision is notable for articulating the level
Goodbye “Five-Part Test”—DOL Finalizes New Investment Advice Fiduciary Rules
On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued final rules which expand what it means to provide fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Though the final rules broaden the definition
IRS Notice 2024-35: (Another) Temporary Waiver for Certain RMDs
On April 16, 2024, IRS released Notice 2024-35 extending temporary relief for certain required minimum distributions (“RMD”) related to the SECURE Act’s 10-year distribution rule through 2024. This notice follows similar relief provided by the IRS in Notice 2022-53 and Notice 2023-54 for earlier periods.
Background
For distributions before January 1, 2020, the Internal Revenue