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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Welfare Plans Edition |
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October 31, 2001 - 6,491 subscribers
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Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: How Is It Changing the Way Doctors Talk to Patients About Drugs?
Excerpt: "The drug industry spends over $2 billion a year on such 'direct-to-consumer' ads, but there is little agreement about the benefits or costs of this form of advertising." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
No Liability for Failure to Tell Disabled Employee of Actively-At-Work Clause in Life Insurance Plan
Ostler v. Oce'-Usa, Inc., 2001 U.S. Dist.LEXIS 16369 (N.D. Ill. 2001). Excerpt: "In the early stages, an employer will typically publicize a new program by distributing benefit summaries and holding informational meetings. But employers are often not aware of the fine print in the insurance contract, so important conditions and limitations may be omitted or misconstrued causing employees to enroll for non-existent coverage." (EBIA Weekly)
State Department of Labor Has No Jurisdiction Over Employee Claims for ERISA Severance Pay
Hamilton Sundstrand Corp. v. Healey (N.D.Ill. 2001). Excerpt: " This case illustrates another common situation--terminations in connection with outsourcing--for which employers should consider amending their plans to eliminate severance pay entitlement." (EBIA Weekly)
9th Circuit Applies Egelhoff Decision; Calif. Community Property Law Must Yield to ERISA
Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Buechler (Sept. 25, 2001). Excerpt: "In the appeal before the Ninth Circuit, the former spouse argued that California community property law entitled her to the life insurance benefits ... The Ninth Circuit rejected this argument on the grounds that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff ... overruled the [Ninth Circuit's earlier] Emard [vs. Hughes Aircraft Co.] decision." (EBIA Weekly)
ERISA Preempted State Law On Apprenticeship Programs, According To Eighth Circuit
ERISA preempted portions of a Minnesota state law that required contractors to adopt 'approved' apprenticeship programs meeting a number of specified requirements. This was the ruling of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Minnesota Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., et al. v. Minnesota Department of Public Safety. (SpencerNet)
Analysis: IRS Creates Safe Harbor From Constructive Receipt for Donating Leave to Charities
Excerpt: "This Announcement was intended to facilitate, at least from a tax perspective, the generosity of employers and employees following the September terrorist attacks. The IRS has provided similar relief in the past for employees who donate leave to colleagues absent from work for a long time because of medical emergencies." (EBIA Weekly)
Employees Far and Wide Seek Mental-Health Help
Excerpt: "The events of Sept. 11 have provoked an unprecedented need for emergency workplace mental-health services as employers throughout the U.S. are finding they didn't have to lose people in the attacks to have an emotionally frayed work force." (CareerJournal.com)
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Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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