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This month’s Friday Five examines recent court rulings on both short- and long-term disability benefits, focusing on key interpretations—including how "earnings" are defined under an employer’s plan. The Saul Ewing ERISA Litigation Team Whether Defendant’s decision to terminate Plaintiff’s long-term...

This month’s Friday Five explores decisions from around the country discussing the concept of reasonableness in various forms. One court rejected the parties’ proffered definitions of the term “working” and instead determined that a dictionary definition was reasonable. Two cases reflect courts...

On March 12, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) issued an Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) implementing a new registration requirement (“Registration Requirement”) for certain foreign nationals to be filed with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (“USCIS”). The...

Saul Ewing LLP is pleased to announce that Amy Kline and Caitlin Strauss have been honored in the 2025 JD Supra Readers' Choice Awards for their exemplary authorship of The Friday Five. This prestigious award recognizes the top authors and firms for exceptional thought leadership over the past year...

This month’s Friday Five addresses cases covering ERISA preemption, the viability of a claim for benefits where the claimant alleges to have not received notice of a prior claim denial, an affirmance by the Circuit Court of a denial of benefits, and District Court reviews of decisions denying...

One mandate under the PPACA [1] required health care providers, non-grandfathered health insurance issuers and self-insured group health plans to provide consumers with access to information about the cost of services before they receive care (“Transparency in Coverage” or “TiC”). During his first...

Speaking from the Oval Office on February 25, 2025, President Trump proposed replacing the EB-5 Program with a new program that would offer “gold cards” for $5 million to wealthy foreign nationals seeking residency, and subsequently naturalization, in the United States. The President’s statement...

This month’s Friday Five covers an appellate ruling on a complicated case raising both state and federal claims, an instance of procedural improprieties in the administrative review process informing the court’s substantive benefits decision, an equitable ERISA claim for an administrator’s payment...

In the prior article we discussed the reasoning behind creation of a health and welfare committee to oversee administration of the health and welfare plans. In creating a charter, a plan sponsor will need to decide whether to include a work plan as an exhibit to that charter as a general guide to...

Following the flurry of regulatory guidance and informal comments from officials at the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and other agencies of the Federal government, health and welfare plans should be a primary focus for plan sponsors in the upcoming year. Designating a Committee or...

This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions including the standard of review for ERISA benefit denials, whether structural conflict entitles a claimant to conflict-of-interest discovery, whether a “relative value units” analysis warrants equitable tolling, whether the administrative record...

This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions including the impact of a COVID furlough on eligibility for LTD benefits, what constitutes a breach of an employer’s fiduciary duty, what defines total proof of disability or is viewed as a severe procedural violation, and the appropriate weight...

This month’s Friday Five discusses cases involving ERISA preemption, the methodology for calculating qualified joint and survivor annuity benefits, a dispute over an attempt to supplement the record before the Court, a factual dispute precluding summary judgment on a bad faith claim, and the payroll...

This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to Long-COVID, a class action RICO suit, the physical illness exclusion to accidental death and dismemberment claims, consideration due to an Administrative Law Judge’s disability determination, and self-reported claims of fatigue. The Saul Ewing ERISA...

This month’s Friday Five discusses cases addressing the effect of continuing to receive benefits during the period of alleged disability, reliance on an employer’s records in making a disability determination, the admissibility of expert and lay testimony from a physician in a trial over LTD...

The EB-5 program, officially known as the Employment-Based Fifth Preference Immigrant Investor Program, offers a compelling pathway for foreign investors to gain lawful permanent residency in the United States by investing in the U.S. economy. The EB-5 program is particularly attractive to...

This month’s Friday Five explores decisions from around the country discussing differences between the scope of discovery and ability to add documents to the record on a claim for review challenging the denial of LTD benefits, LTD and LWOP policies, the breadth of discretion available to claims...

This month’s Friday Five explores decisions addressing the burden of proving accidental death, policy language and “any occupation” disability, an interpleader case where the insurer was not dismissed from the case, the weight to be afforded to non-treating expert opinions and SSDI determinations...

This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions with issues spanning physician power of attorney to preexisting exclusions and the fiduciary duty of an insurance company. The Saul Ewing Employee Benefits/ERISA Litigation Team Whether a provider has sufficiently pleaded the existence of a valid...

This month’s Friday Five explores decisions from around the country discussing differences between LTD and LWOP policies, the breadth of discretion available to claims administrators and the always important topic of timely action by insurers in issuing claims decisions. The Saul Ewing Employee...