Search the News Archive

Second Circuit: Arbitration Agreement Did Not Require Arbitration of Employee's ERISA Claim

"[T]he court found the arbitration agreement's listed examples of claims which should be arbitrated were more personal to Plaintiff -- e.g., wrongful discharge, harassment, and leave disputes -- and thus Plaintiff's ERISA claim, which Plaintiff brought on behalf of the Plan and the Plan's other participants, was not of the same type as those enumerated in the arbitration agreement." [Cooper v. Ruane Cunniff & Goldfarb Inc., No. 17-2805 (2d Cir. Mar. 4, 2021)]

How the Proposed DOL Fiduciary Rule Intersects with Regulation Best Interest

"While reaffirming that the five-part test is ultimately based on an analysis of the relevant facts and circumstances, the DOL notes that IRA rollovers will generally be considered part of an ongoing advice relationship that would satisfy the regular basis prong. In addition, recommendations made pursuant to Reg BI (or another analogous requirement) should reasonably be understood to serve as a primary basis for an investment decision. The result is that while the five-part test remains intact, it will be more difficult for financial institutions and investment professionals to rely on the five-part test to argue that they are not acting as an investment advice fiduciary."

Paid Sick Time Laws Sweep the Nation

"Perhaps the biggest challenge for multi-jurisdictional employers will be dealing with the laws' various differences.... [E]mployers with locations in multiple jurisdictions with paid sick leave laws will have to craft separate sick leave policies for each location.... As an alternative, employers can adopt an ERISA plan that covers PTO and sick leave benefits ... When done correctly, this can allow employers to have one uniform nationwide policy and pre-empt these various state and local sick pay ordinances."

The Day the ERISA Presumption of Prudence Died

"[T]he public information defenses suggested by the Supreme Court have a limited range -- they only apply to [plans] holding the stock of publicly traded companies. For the thousands of ESOPs funded by stock of companies that are not publicly traded, those fiduciaries must continue to attend to the particulars of their own procedural prudence so as to avoid being the subject of future judicial guidance."