The plaintiff, Nerses Meguerditchian, was initially employed by FedEx in 1991 as a technician who repaired vehicles and ground equipment operated by the company. In 2011, the plaintiff injured his back while working on a vehicle, but participated in FedEx’s temporary return to work program following his injury until April 2011 when he ceased working […]
The enforceability of a forum selection clause was the subject of a recent ruling issued by U.S District Judge Milton I. Shadur in Coleman v. Supervalu, Inc. Short Term Disability Program, 2013 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 13372 (N.D.Ill. Jan. 31, 2013). The case involved Eboni Coleman, a retail pharmacist who worked at a Jewel-Osco store in Illinois. Litigation arose after Jewel-Osco’s parent corporation denied Coleman’s short-term disability benefit claim.
Because the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) statute lacks a specific limitation provision applicable to benefit claims, but the courts nonetheless enforce contractual limitations periods incorporated in benefit plans, courts frequently struggle with the question of when limitations periods accrue.
A recent ruling from a federal court in Texas illustrates the difference between an ERISA welfare benefit and a payroll practice. While the former is subject to federal law, disputes arising in relation to payroll practices belong in state court. In Monkhouse v. Stanley Associates, Inc. Short Term Disability Income Plan, 2010 U.S.Dist.LEXIS 40555 (S.D.Tex. […]