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Employee Retirement Income Security Act


The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) was designed to protect employees from private employers who might mismanage employee benefits plans. Among the items covered in ERISA laws are health benefits, pension plans, and employee stock ownership plans. In cases where ERISA protections are violated, employees can file a lawsuit to hold those responsible accountable for their actions and receive compensation for their losses.

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ERISA Laws

ERISA laws are federally enacted laws that set out the requirements for private employers who offer benefits to their employees. Such benefits frequently include health plans, pension plans, or employee stock ownership plans. Just because an employer offers these plans, however, does not mean the employer is free to run the plans how he or she sees fit.

Under ERISA laws, the fiduciaries responsible for overseeing benefits plans must act in the best interests of the plan, must provide plan participants with complete information about the plan—including how the plan operates, how benefits are calculated, and how benefits are paid—and must provide a process through which employees can appeal or grieve denials of their applications for benefits.

Among those who may be considered plan fiduciaries are trustees, administrators, employers, and anyone who sits on the investment committee. In addition to running the plan in the best interests of participants and beneficiaries, fiduciaries must avoid conflicts of interest when they run the plan.

Before employees are eligible to file a lawsuit under ERISA, they must exhaust the appeals process and must meet strict ERISA filing deadlines.
 

Health Benefit Plans

Group health benefits plans are frequently offered by employers as a benefit for employees. The plans ensure participants and their dependents have access to medical care either by providing that care directly, by providing insurance coverage for medical care, by reimbursing participants for expenses, or through other means.

If a group health insurance benefits plan has been mismanaged, employees may be able to file a lawsuit against the plan fiduciary, to ensure they have access to the medical care, insurance, or funding as set out in the plan agreement.

Meanwhile, if access to insurance benefits have been unreasonably denied by an insurance company, plan participants may be eligible to file a lawsuit under ERISA to have their insurance denial reversed. Before they can do so, however, they must first follow the insurance company's appeals process.
 

Pension Plans

ERISA also sets out guidelines for managing retirement plans—including defined benefits plans, defined contribution plans, simplified employee retirement plans, and 401(k) plans. Employers must manage the plan in the manner agreed upon in the plan agreement or summary plan description and must provide certain advance notice to employees.

If fiduciaries mismanage funds or otherwise acted improperly in carrying out their duties, they may be held personally liable for any losses experienced by the plan as a result of their actions. This might include reimbursing missing contributions, including lost earnings or interest.
 

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)

Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) are employee benefit plans in which assets are mainly invested in the employer's stock, giving employees an ownership interest in their employer. Employers are required to provide a summary plan description that explains the rules for how the ESOP is managed, when they can access benefits, and how they can appeal ESOP operations. Fiduciaries can get into trouble, however, if a plan's assets remain invested in the company when it is no longer prudent to do so, or if the fees associated with the plan's investment are higher than they should reasonably be.
 

ERISA Lawsuits

There are situations in which employees can file ERISA lawsuits against a plan or its fiduciaries:
  • To appeal a claim for benefits that was denied
  • To recover missing benefits
  • To prevent a plan from being managed in a way that violates ERISA laws
  • To stop fiduciaries from mismanaging plans

In cases where ERISA plans have been mismanaged, legitimate claims for benefits have been denied, or plan administrators have breached their fiduciary duties, plan participants and their beneficiaries may be eligible to file an ERISA lawsuit.
 

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ERISA VIOLATION LAWSUITS


ERISA VIOLATION LEGAL ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS

ESG Rules for ERISA Plan Investing Survive Conservative Challenge
ESG Rules for ERISA Plan Investing Survive Conservative Challenge
November 14, 2023
On September 21, US District Court for the Northern District of Texas Judge Matthew J. Kasmaryk held that plan fiduciaries may consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in choosing pension plan investments. The ERISA lawsuit, Utah v. Walsh, was seen as the “anti-woke” coalition’s best shot at limiting the range of factors that fiduciaries could consider in investment decisions. READ MORE

Construction Laborers Pension Plan Sues Investment Manager for ERISA Breach
Construction Laborers Pension Plan Sues Investment Manager for ERISA Breach
October 17, 2023
On September 15, the Construction Laborers Pension Plan for Southern California and the Board of Trustees for that fund filed an ERISA lawsuit against Meketa Investment Group and Judy Chambers. The lawsuit alleges that Meketa breached its fiduciary duty to the Pension Fund by advising it to invest $30 million in participants’ retirement savings in a California-focused Infrastructure Fund to be managed by Onset General Partner, LLC. Onset was a hastily formed company with ties to Chambers. Meketa then essentially abandoned its fiduciary and contractual duties to review and monitor Onset’s investment program. READ MORE

Allianz Asset Management Settles ERISA Lawsuit for $7.5 Million
Allianz Asset Management Settles ERISA Lawsuit for $7.5 Million
October 3, 2023
On August 18, Allianz Asset Management of America, LLC and the Investment Committee of the Allianz Asset Management of America 401(k) Savings and Retirement Plan agreed to settle a breach of fiduciary duty ERISA lawsuit brought by former participants in the plan. The $7.5 million payout will go to roughly 5,139 participants and beneficiaries in the 401k plan, according to the filing. READ MORE

READER COMMENTS

Posted by

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CAN YOU TELL ME IF AUTOZONE IS PART OF LAWSUITS

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i was part of a pension plan and had my benefits cut short because of the IRS415 rule... then the plan stopped my cola increase.. then they cut my pension 2200.00 a month... i`m oonly getting 1/3 of what i should be getting for spending 25 years in a pension fund.... can anyone help?

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Can you tell me if Lockheed Electronics is part of the class action lawsuit?

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