The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently filed a reply brief in a lawsuit brought by insurance industry groups seeking to block new regulations that expand the definition of fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In its brief, the DOL asked the Court to deny a motion for a preliminary injunction that
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Former NBCUniversal Worker Claims Termination Based on HIV Status
James Williams, an animation technician who had worked at Universal Studios Hollywood since 2022, has sued NBCUniversal under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act. Williams claims that after his employer reprimanded him for missing work due to illness, he was fired two days after submitting paperwork for intermittent leave under California’s Family Rights Act based…
Courts Issue Injunctions Blocking Expansion of ACA Section 1557 to Prohibit Discrimination Based on Gender Identity
A Mississippi federal district court has issued a nationwide injunction and stay on some of the new federal regulations concerning Affordable Care Act (ACA) Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination in specified health programs and activities based on certain protected characteristics. The regulations include a new and expanded definition of sex discrimination. The case is Tennessee…
Fourth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of FMLA Retaliation Suit Based on Credibility Concerns
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of a former worker’s FMLA retaliation and interference case in favor of Baltimore Gas & Electric Co., parent company Exelon Corp., and several individual employees. The Court ruled that the gas company’s suspicions of dishonesty concerning the…
Fifth Circuit Appears Skeptical of Invalidating ESG Rule Despite the Fall of Chevron
A U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit panel appeared skeptical during oral arguments in which conservative states and Texas-based energy interests sought to reverse a district judge’s order upholding an environmental, governance, and social (ESG) rule in an Administrative Procedure Act (APA) case. The states also have asked the Fifth Circuit to remand…
Jury Must Decide Factual Disputes in FMLA Violation Case
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled that whether an employee failed to follow her employer’s procedures for requesting leave was due to “unusual circumstances” was a factual matter for the jury to decide. That factual question would determine whether the employee could sue the employer for violating the Family and…
How the Demise of Chevron Will Impact Health Care and Benefits
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 2024 WL 3208360 (U.S. 2024), which overturned its 1984 decision in Chevron USA Inc. v. National Resource Defense Council, 467 U.S. 387 (1984). In its decision, the high Court abandoned the so-called “Chevron…
Federal Courts Reject Nationwide Injunction for New Overtime Rule
Although the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has blocked the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) new overtime rule for Texas state employees, the initial salary threshold increases under the new rule went into full force and effect for the rest of the United States on July 1, 2024. The overtime rule…
U.S. Supreme Court to Review Tennessee State Ban on Gender-Affirming Care
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that upheld a Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming care for minors and overturned a lower court injunction that had prevented the law from going into effect. The Sixth Circuit decision also addressed a similar ban…
Fifth Circuit Rules ACA Preventive Mandate Remains in Effect Nationwide – Except as to Plaintiffs
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled in favor of Christian-owned businesses and individuals who sued over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) preventive care mandates. The appellate Court agreed with the district court that the federal task force that recommended mandated preventive care services was unconstitutional.
However, the Fifth Circuit lifted…