Industries: Health Care

Labor

Labor Issues

We have experience with the labor and employment issues involved with health care. We have substantial experience representing management in union organizational efforts, unfair labor practice charges, arbitration and collective bargaining, and developing various union-management cooperative programs. We also counsel health care employers concerning employment contracts, employee handbooks, hiring, discipline, downsizing, discrimination claims, ERISA complaints, wage-hour questions, and daily employee relations operating problems.

Employment Discrimination

Because civil rights laws affect virtually every employment decision, our lawyers specializing in employment discrimination advise clients on maintaining positive employee relations, while also staying ahead of the litigation curve.

We are experienced with the laws governing employment discrimination matters, including:

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. § 1981, as amended by the Civil Rights Act of 1991
  • The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • The Equal Pay Act
  • The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
  • Affirmative action requirements under Executive Order 11246
  • Constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
  • Other local, state and federal civil rights and anti-discrimination statutes

We bring an innovative approach to employment related anti-discrimination matters. Our lawyers provide interpretive guidance and review personnel forms, policies, and procedures. We prepare affirmative action plans and policies, train supervisors, and suggest ways to reduce the risks of discrimination claims and litigation. We also represent employers involved in state and federal claims and investigative proceedings.

Employee Benefits

We regularly defend employers and insurers against claims involving denial of retirement, health, life, disability, and severance benefits, alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, and alleged misrepresentations regarding benefits. Our expertise with ERISA, tax, securities, retirement and welfare benefit plans, service contracts, and plan administration further enhances our litigation capabilities.

We regularly advise and represent insurers and Fortune 500 employers on benefit claims, fiduciary matters, subrogation workouts with participants, and contract disputes arising out of agreements to provide insurance and other services for employee benefits plans. Because of our strong labor relations practice, we have extensive experience arbitrating benefits claims, including shutdown benefits, controversies regarding multi-employer plan issues and contributions, litigation, and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) charges relating to benefits issues. We have also successfully defended equal employment claims against both employers and insurers, including claims of alleged discrimination in benefit terms under the ADA and ADEA.

Some of our recent employee benefits cases and matters include:

  • Summary judgment for a technology company against 56 former employees seeking severance benefits, statutory penalties, and damages for alleged § 510 discrimination.
  • A successful motion to dismiss on a claim against a large chemical company for alleged violations of "rollover" plan distribution notice rules under 29 U.S.C. § 402(d), affirmed on appeal.
  • Summary judgment on various ERISA claims alleging misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor, affirmed on appeal and noted in the Wall Street Journal.
  • Summary judgment on a disability retirement claim against a paper company, affirmed on appeal.
  • Successful defense, affirmed on appeal, of a denial of coverage on an experimental ABMT cancer treatment for a health insurance provider.
  • Summary judgment on class action claims under ERISA for early retirement incentive benefits, breach of fiduciary duty, and claims for statutory penalties for failing to produce plan documents.
  • Summary judgment on fiduciary breach claims in connection with annuity withdrawals and alleged resulting tax losses.
  • Summary judgment in a class action alleging breach of ERISA fiduciary duties with respect to change of control provisions in an Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP).
  • Many other summary judgments and other victories on claims for severance, disability, and health insurance benefits. These cases give us a wide range of experience in standard of review and claim procedural issues, which arise repeatedly in litigation under ERISA's complex remedial scheme.