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This month’s Friday Five addresses two cases involving disability claims that touch on Covid-19, a Circuit Court ruling for an insurer, a district court ruling that a 20-year-old regulatory settlement precluded an insurer from relying on the opinions of physicians it hired, and a claim for breach of...

“Oops, [it] did it again.” Analogous to Ms. Spears’s lyric, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) once again causes a reset across multiple industries with its third iteration of an electronic data reporting rule. Beginning January 1, 2024 , for employers in specific high-hazard...

This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to what constitutes a fiduciary function, a finding of disability despite working full-time, an enforcement of suit limitation clause, the circumstances under which reinstatement is an appropriate remedy, and ERISA preemption. The Saul Ewing LLP...

Contractors could start seeing six-figure fines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in the next few months thanks to sweeping policy changes implemented earlier this year. In a press release and two internal memoranda issued January 26, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL)...

This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to a plaintiff’s attempts to seal a complaint seeking disability benefits, an administrator’s uncommunicated decision to discontinue its investigation into certain medical conditions, an administrator’s loss of the deferential standard of review for...

The deal reached between the President and House Speaker McCarthy on the debt limit bill includes provisions approving a natural gas pipeline project (Mountain Valley Pipeline) and eliminating any judicial review of its existing and future permits, and also includes some limited reform of the...

On May 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) has begun a National Emphasis Program (“NEP”) to prevent workplace falls, effective immediately. The NEP focuses on reducing fall-related injuries and fatalities for people...

This month’s Friday Five explores two recent decisions that discuss limitations on benefits when both physical disability and disability arising from mental illness are alleged, whether remand of a claim by the court constitutes a new appeal or a continuation of the previous appeal, whether an order...

What Do We Do Now?! How To Handle an OSHA Inspection An inspection from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) can affect a construction site in many ways—from workflow disruptions to compliance issues. In this seminar, Michael Metz-Topodas reviews the regulatory requirements...

In It for the Long Haul: Covid, Long Covid, and Covid-Adjacent Claims Issues Caitlin Strauss will be speaking on a panel during the 2023 DRI Life, Health, Disability, and ERISA Seminar in New Orleans, Louisiana. Joining Caitlin on the panel is Lisa E. Montelongo-Connor, Unum and Joni Sobocinski, New...

Brownfields Redevelopment: A CREW NJ Lunch and Learn Melissa Clarke joins CREW NJ and commercial real estate professionals to discuss the tools and resources necessary to redevelop brownfield sites -- properties that are abandoned or underutilized because of either real or perceived contamination.

New Jersey’s Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) finalized its long-awaited Environmental Justice Rules (“EJ Rules”) by publishing them in the New Jersey Register on April 17, 2023. The EJ Rules implement New Jersey’s landmark Environmental Justice Law. In a tandem action, the White...

"A Change Is Gonna Come" What OSHA's Policy Revisions May Mean for the Construction Industry Michael Metz-Topodas, a Partner in the firm's Construction Practice, will be speaking on a panel during the American Subcontractors Association of Central Pennsylvania Half-Day Construction Symposium...

This month’s Friday Five explores recent decisions that reflect the precise nature of rules and definitions in the context of ERISA claims. For example, effective dates of CFR code provisions and contractually defined limitation periods can draw specific points on the timeline of a case. Similarly...

This month's Friday Five covers cases relating to issue preclusion, coverage where the policy terms are inconsistent with the parties’ behavior, application of the abuse of discretion standard of review, applicability of a waiver of premium provision and compliance with a mandatory appeals process...

This month’s Friday Five covers cases relating to potential impacts of COVID-19, full and fair review of the claim file, an attempt to use an insurer’s internal policy against itself, and a “second bite at the apple” by amending a complaint for denial of benefits to include a claim for breach of...