Author: Mark Debofsky

Wash. ERISA Ruling Paves Way for Access to Health Benefits

The scope and breadth of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act’s statutory preemption of state laws that relate to employee benefit plans[1] has confounded the courts since ERISA was enacted in 1974. In recent years, a battle front has emerged over the power of local governments to ensure universal health care for workers. The U.S. District […]

Mark DeBofsky Records New Video, “ERISA for Dummies”

Mark DeBofsky recently joined the faculty of the National Academy for Continuing Legal Education and recorded a new course, “ERISA for Dummies,” accessible via the following link: https://www.nacle.com/CLE/Courses/ERISA-for-Dummies-1485. The entire program may also be viewed here: https://youtu.be/wbH6YaZ661c.    

6th Circ. Ruling Offers Fresh Look at ERISA Exhaustion

Is exhaustion of administrative remedies in challenging Employee Retirement Income Security Act-governed benefit denials required as a precondition to filing a lawsuit? A concurring opinion in Wallace v. Oakwood Healthcare Inc.[1] by U.S. Circuit Judge Amul Thapar of the Sixth Circuit raises provocative questions about the administrative exhaustion doctrine in ERISA cases and suggests that other […]