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What I've Been Reading This Week


ERISA issues are always very interesting to read about, given the often complex nature of the disputes.  Recently, the United States Supreme Court ruled on two ERISA issues that I wanted to highlight for readers.  The Bloomberg article breaks down the cases relatively well and includes links to the actual opinions...for those readers looking for a little "light" reading.

As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


United States Supreme Court Addressed Two ERISA Issues Recently

For those interested in ERISA issues, Bloomberg had a good note on the United States Supreme Court's action on two recent cases on the matter.  One case, Montanile v. Bd. of Trs. of Nat'l Elevator Indus. Health Benefit Plan, resulted in a ruling that an employee benefit plan cannot assert a lien on a participant's settlement proceeds if the participant has already spent the amounts in question.  The second case, Amgen Inc. v. Harris, resulted in a short, unsigned ruling which held that workers who challenge losses in their employer stock plans face a higher hurdle than lower courts have applied previously.  For those interested in ERISA issues, these are two big cases to review.



The Columbus Dispatch published an article recently on the GOP attempt to overhaul Ohio's unemployment compensation system.  Critics of House Bill 394 have argued that the legislation would reduce benefits to jobless workers and entirely eliminate them for others.  Interestingly, one of the provisions of the legislation would prohibit workers from receiving unemployment benefits if they were fired for violating the terms of an employee handbook.  (That could potentially exclude a lot of people...).  It will be interesting to watch this one proceed through the Ohio Legislature.



This article details a recent case filed by a former librarian at Washington University who alleged that she was subjected to age discrimination and ultimately was constructively discharged by her employer.  The librarian, who worked at the university for over 20 years, alleged that she began to experience hostility from the younger managers at the library.  She claimed that her duties were reduced and areas of responsibility were given to younger, less experienced library staff.  After her complaints to human resources went nowhere, she took a leave of absence and was eventually constructively discharged.  Very interesting facts in this case; I would be interested to read the University's response to the claims.

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