Chimicles & Tikellis LLP - Class Action Law

Congress enacted the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, known as ERISA, to protect the interests of employees and their beneficiaries (such as spouses and children) who are enrolled in employee benefit plans. ERISA protects employee rights under pension plans, including 401(k) plans and other retirement plans, and under welfare plans, such as those providing medical, surgical, hospital, sickness, accident, disability, or death benefits. ERISA does not cover government employees. ERISA protects the rights of participants and beneficiaries by requiring disclosure and reporting to participants and beneficiaries, by establishing the obligations and responsibilities of the "fiduciaries" who administer the plans, and by providing participants and beneficiaries with remedies in federal court to enable them to enforce their rights.

If you are a participant or beneficiary under an employee benefit plan, your rights include the following:

The right to be furnished with a "Summary Plan Description," or "SPD", which sets forth your rights and obligations under the plan. Among other things, the Summary Plan Description must describe certain terms of the plan and must set forth the procedures for presenting claims for benefits and the remedies available to redress claims which are denied. The Summary Plan Description is required to be written so that an average employee can understand it.

The right, upon your request, to be furnished with a copy of the Summary Plan Description, the latest annual report, and any bargaining agreement, trust agreement, or other document under which the plan is established and operated. The Administrator may require you to pay a reasonable charge for requested documents.

The right, if your claim for benefits under a plan is denied, to be notified in writing of the specific reasons for the denial, and the right to be afforded a reasonable opportunity for a full and fair review of your claim by the plan's named fiduciary.

The fiduciaries of an ERISA plan have certain legal obligations to employees who participate in a plan, including obligations to carry out their responsibilities in connection with the plan solely in the interests of the enrolled employees, for the exclusive purpose of furnishing benefits. The fiduciaries must also carry out their functions in a prudent and careful manner, must take appropriate steps to diversify any plan investments and must comply with any written documents that govern the particular plan.

If a fiduciary breaches one of these duties, an employee or beneficiary may be able to obtain a remedy through an action in federal court. The nature of the relief available may vary depending upon the facts of a particular matter. Employees or beneficiaries whose claims for benefits have been denied may also have that decision reviewed in state or federal court after concluding any appeals process that exists under the plan.

In addition, under a related statute known as "COBRA," qualified beneficiaries who would lose health coverage have the right to have their health coverage continue for specified periods, if they pay the required premiums, when any of the following "qualifying events" occurs: death of the covered employee, termination of employment, divorce, legal separation, becoming entitled to medicare benefits, a dependent child ceasing to be a dependent child, or the bankruptcy of the covered employee's employer. The statute requires that a notice of these rights be furnished to qualified beneficiaries.


Friday, July 04th, 2008