ERISA Preemption and Employee Benefit Claims: Recent Court Decisions, Causes of Action, Plan Administration

This CLE webinar will guide ERISA counsel to manage the legal challenges of ERISA preemption rules and their impact on litigating employee benefit claims and retirement and health plan administration. The panel will discuss the application of federal rules, recent court decisions, causes of action, and key considerations and litigation techniques for plan sponsors and administrators.

Section 514(a) under ERISA provides that ERISA preempts state laws insofar as they "relate to" any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan, subject to limited exceptions. This eliminates the possibility of plans having to reconcile inconsistent state and local regulations but could have significant implications if ERISA preemption applies to a claim.

A determination that ERISA preempts state law would change the entire framework of any litigation of ERISA claims which would then be litigated in federal court with limited possible remedies for plaintiffs. Under Section 514(a), ERISA preempts "any and all State laws insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to any employee benefit plan" covered by ERISA, with limited exceptions. ERISA counsel must be aware of the application of these rules to effectively manage the litigation of claims against plan sponsors and administrators.

Listen as our panel discusses the legal challenges of ERISA preemption of state laws and policies, the impact on retirement and health plan administration, lessons learned from recent court decisions, and litigation best practices for ERISA counsel.