Michael Bartolic Law Blog

Few employees that participate in an employer-sponsored 401(k) plan
question whether the plan is paying excessive fees to the funds it
offers as investment options. We often just assume the plan, and the
employer, are leveraging the buying power of the large amount of assets
held in the plan to secure the lowest possible fees for the
participants. But this may or may not be true. One... Read More

Employees and Retirees in Chicago that are participants in a pension plan should be concerned about a cost of living adjustment
("COLA") in their pension plans. A COLA is an annual adjustment to a
pension benefit based upon a cost of living index. The question arises,
however, when a participant takes a... Read More

Employees and Retirees in Chicago alike frequently wonder what happens when a plan administrator misrepresents the pension benefits
that employee or retiree would receive, such as what the annuity
payment amount would be. There have been plenty of cases involving a
misrepresentation by the plan sponsor or employer (e.g., Enron). But no
case yet arising in Chicago has yet to extend the estoppel... Read More

Employees and executives in Chicago frequently want to know what benefits their employer-sponsored pension
or retirement plan has to provide. Generally, both ERISA and the
Internal Revenue Code require qualified plans provide a minimum level of
participation, vesting, accrual of benefits, non-discrimination, and
responsibilities on plan fiduciaries. But ERISA and the Code also
provide... Read More

Employees and Executives in Chicago that participate in an ERISA employee benefit plan
often wonder whether once an employer gives a benefit, the employer can
later take it away. Recently, CUNA Mutual did just that, and in an
opinion with which this author disagrees (in both result and reasoning),
the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled 2-1 that CUNA's
action was not improper.... Read More

... Read More

Employees that participate in group health insurance or group disability insurance
plans through their employers obtained another victory today. The
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that
participants who bring claims under Read More

Executives, professionals and other employees in Chicago frequently
call my office to ask what the statute of limitations is in an ERISA case
(i.e., the measure of how long the potential claimant has to file a
lawsuit under ERISA). Depending on the type of case, employees can end
up more confused after asking that question than before. One recent
case discussed when a claim accrues... Read More

Employees covered by employer sponsored health insurance plans
often encounter the situation where a doctor or medical staff
recommends a procedure, and advises the employee the procedure is
covered by insurance, only for you--the employee--to get a denial of
claim for benefits letter from the insurer afterwards. Countless of
these individuals feel that the denial is the hospital's problem; after
all, the... Read More

Employees in Chicago now have even more reason to know about employer-provided health plans
and their rights to reimbursement and subrogation. Should you
experience any type of accident or injury caused by another party, you
may need to use your own health insurance to cover the medical expenses
incurred from the accident until obtaining a settlement from or judgment
against the party... Read More