Litigation attacks on church plans: what sponsoring employers need to know *

USA - April 17 2013
About two weeks ago, two class action firms with ERISA class action experience filed lawsuits against three tax-exempt health care systems in…

Co-authors: Joseph C. Faucher, David R. Levin, Michael A. Vanic , David L. Wolfe , Joshua J. Waldbeser.

---

FTC approves settlement of noncompetition case against renown health voiding ten physicians’ noncompetition agreements *

USA - December 21 2012
On November 30, 2012, the Federal Trade Commission voted 5-0 to approve the settlement of a complaint it filed against Renown Health on August 3, 2012.

---

Seventh Circuit joins ranks of courts holding that internal grievances about employer fiduciary duty breaches is actionable under ERISA Section 510 *

USA - October 1 2012
In Victor George v. Junior Achievement of Central Indiana Inc., decided September 24, 2012, the Seventh Circuit joined the Fifth and Ninth Circuits in holding that Section 510 of ERISA applies to unsolicited, informal grievances to employers.

---

Illinois becomes second state to prohibit employers from requiring access to employees’ and prospective employees’ social media web sites *

USA - August 22 2012
On August 1, 2012, Illinois joined Maryland (law passed in March 2012) in prohibiting employer access to social media web sites of their employees and prospective employees. 

---

Recent fee shifting cases caution against diving into non-compete/trade secret litigation where the facts supporting a violation are unknown or questionable *

USA - August 14 2012
Two recent cases highlight the down side of running into court with guns blazing but without the horses to prevail, or at least without the facts sufficient to survive the bad faith standard of the Uniform Trade Secret Act.

---