United States: Federal District Court Holds That Plan's One-Year Limitations Period Is Unenforceable Under State Law

On the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision in Heimeshoff v. Hartford Life & Acc. Ins. Co, a federal district court in New York has held in Halpern v. Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Western New York, 12-CV-407S (W.D.N.Y., Sept. 4, 2014) that a group health benefit plan’s shorter one-year limitations period is unenforceable because section 3221(a) of New York Insurance Law allowed for a two-year limitations period. Despite the fact that the New York’s […]

By | October 6th, 2014 ||

United States: The Affordable Care Act—Countdown To Compliance For Employers, Week 12: The Treatment Of Unpaid Leaves Of Absence Under The Look-Back Measurement Method

Final regulations implementing the Affordable Care Act’s employer shared responsibility rules furnish employers with two alternative methods—the monthly measurement method and the look-back measurement method—for identifying full-time employees. (The Act’s employer shared responsibility standards are codified in Internal Revenue Code § 4980H; the final regulations can be accessed here.) For each method, the final regulations provide standards governing breaks-in-service that are unique to Code section 4980H. For employers choosing to apply the look-back measurement […]

By | October 6th, 2014 ||

United States: Resource Update: Innovative Strategies For Defending Against The Rising Tide Of Wage And Hour Class And Collective Action Claims

Over the last decade, employers increasingly have been bombarded with wage and hour lawsuits filed by current and former employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and various state law equivalents.  Though no talisman exists, it’s time for employers to re-emerge from their bunkers, put aside their collective dread, and begin thinking outside the box about how best to protect themselves from the onslaught of wage and hour litigation.  While there is no […]

By | October 6th, 2014 ||