The COVID-19 pandemic which began in early 2020 has caused over 500,000 deaths in the United States by March 2021, along with over 28 million cases of infection. For most individuals who have contracted COVID-19, the symptoms they have experienced have been relatively mild, but a huge number of COVID patients have required […]
Disability claims are often denied, but you don’t have to give up. There are steps you can take following a denial of benefits. Many of us will, at some point in our lives, suffer an illness or injury that necessitates being out of work. We may need to recuperate from a sudden illness that left […]
The plaintiff, Nerses Meguerditchian, was initially employed by FedEx in 1991 as a technician who repaired vehicles and ground equipment operated by the company. In 2011, the plaintiff injured his back while working on a vehicle, but participated in FedEx’s temporary return to work program following his injury until April 2011 when he ceased working […]
The enforceability of a forum selection clause was the subject of a recent ruling issued by U.S District Judge Milton I. Shadur in Coleman v. Supervalu, Inc. Short Term Disability Program, 2013 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 13372 (N.D.Ill. Jan. 31, 2013). The case involved Eboni Coleman, a retail pharmacist who worked at a Jewel-Osco store in Illinois. Litigation […]
Because the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) statute lacks a specific limitation provision applicable to benefit claims, but the courts nonetheless enforce contractual limitations periods incorporated in benefit plans, courts frequently struggle with the question of when limitations periods accrue. Novick v. Metro.Life Ins.Co., 2011 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 14505 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 14, 2011) is an interesting […]
A recent ruling from a federal court in Texas illustrates the difference between an ERISA welfare benefit and a payroll practice. While the former is subject to federal law, disputes arising in relation to payroll practices belong in state court. In Monkhouse v. Stanley Associates, Inc. Short Term Disability Income Plan, 2010 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 40555 (S.D.Tex. […]