In a ruling that abrogates ERISA’s primary purposes, the Second Circuit held that fiduciaries responsible for investment of retirement plan assets are relieved of ERISA’s prudent man standard of care if the plan sponsor inserts into the plan document a provision that mandates the investment in or offering of employer securities, except where the company is in a dire financial situation or facing bankruptcy. Addressing on one of the traditional reasons why the Supreme Court might grant a petition of certiorari , our amicus brief focuses on the vast magnitude of the problem presented by the Second Circuit’s decision in this case
AARP NELA PRC_Amicus Brief_07 24 12.pdf
In a ruling that abrogates ERISA’s primary purposes, the Second Circuit held that fiduciaries responsible for investment of retirement plan assets are relieved of ERISA’s prudent person standard of care if the employer plan sponsor inserts into the plan document a provision that mandates the investment in or offering of that employer’s own securities, except where the company is in a dire financial situation or facing bankruptcy. This decision misapplies the common law of trusts, ignores the Department of Labor’s long-standing interpretations and guidance, and places at risk billions of dollars of retirement savings of employees and their families
NELA, joined by the Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas, Cornell Law School Labor Law Clinic, Friends of Farmworkers, JUNTOS/Casa de los Soles, National Employment Law Project, National Lawyers Guild Labor and Employment Committee, and Working Hands Legal Clinic, filed an amicus brief...
NELAAmicusKnepper.pdf
On March 9, 2015, NELA joined Disability Rights North Carolina and the National Disability Rights Network to file an amicus brief in support of plaintiff-appellant Whitney Stephenson in the case of Stephenson v. Pfizer, Inc. , Case No. 14-2079, pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the...
NELA et al. Amicus Brief_Stephenson v. Pfizer.pdf
For nearly two decades, some courts presumed that it was prudent to invest a retirement plan’s assets in an Employer Stock Option Plan (ESOP), i.e., a benefit plan invested in the employer's own company stock. Recently, however, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Fifth Third Bancorp v....
Whitley v BP_5th Cir_AARP NELA Amicus_Final_102815.pdf
Before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in Lockheed Martin, Corp. v. Department of Labor & Andrea Brown (Case No. 11-9542), NELA filed an amicus brief on September 7, 2011, focused on two issues of law: 1) whether mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, securities fraud, or...
NELAAmicus_Lockheed v DOL & Brown_09 07 11.pdf
On October 25, 2016 NELA joined a coalition of groups led by Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF) and the Impact Fund in signing onto an amicus brief in Carcaño v. McCrory , currently pending in U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. This case involves a challenge to...
Carcano v. McCrory Amicus Brief (4th Cir.).pdf
On Tuesday, October 23, 2018, NELA joined a coalition of civil and employee rights organizations in filing an amicus brief in support of the Plaintiff-Appellees in Acosta v. Austin Electrical Services , pending currently in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This case concerns the...
Acosta v. Austin Electrical Servs_NELA Impact Fund Amicus Brief_9th Cir_102318.pdf
On March 3, 2014, NELA filed an amicus curiae brief in Travers v. Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in support of plaintiff Patricia Travers who was wrongfully terminated in violation of the ADA and in retaliation for taking FMLA...
Amicus Brief 03.03.14 Final.pdf
On July 21, 2014, NELA filed a motion for leave and submitted a proposed amicus curiae brief in Turner v. Inzer , Case No. 14-11357, pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Defendant Inzer refused to consent to the filing of the amicus brief. The major issues on...
Turner amicus brief_07.23.2014_FINAL.pdf
Heimseshoff v. Hartford Life & Accident Insurance Co. and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Case No. 12-729) involves the question of when a statute of limitations should accrue under ERISA for judicial review of an adverse disability benefit determination. In this case, the plaintiff brought suit to...
NELAAmicusBrief_12-729_tsac_aarp nela.pdf
On July 25, 2018, NELA joined the Economic Policy Institute and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in supporting an amicus brief authored by the National Employment Law Project (NELP) in New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira , pending currently in the U.S. Supreme Court. The case concerns...
New Prime v. Oliveira_NELP NELA Amicus Brief_072518.pdf