The law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce that partner Peter Felsenfeld will receive an Award of Merit from The Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF).

The national law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP is pleased to announce the election of 12 attorneys as new partners of the firm, effective July 1, 2018. Located in nine of the firm's offices throughout the U.S., the new partners reflect Hinshaw's commitment to long-term client relationships and prioritizing the client's success by providing a wide variety of sophisticated legal advice and counsel.

Peter J. Felsenfeld, an associate in Hinshaw's San Francisco office, co-authored "Pros and Cons of Public Agency Captives," which appears in Risk Management magazine. The article notes that public agencies nationwide are increasingly forming captives as an alternative to traditional risk management programs and discusses the benefits and disadvantages of the captive model in the public sector.

Hinshaw's California Employment Law Breakfast Briefing - San Francisco

A company cannot fire an employee in retaliation for complaining to supervisors about sexual harassment, the Sixth Circuit recently held in Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. New Breed Logistics, No. 13-6250 (6th Cir. April 22, 2015). This seems pretty straightforward, right? Not entirely. In this case, the employer argued that an employee who tells a supervisor to stop harassing her is not engaging in "protected activity" because she is not officially opposing an unlawful employment practice. Without the protected activity, there can be no retaliation, the employer argued. As discussed more fully below, and probably not as a surprise to many, this argument did not fly with the Court.

It would never occur to most employers that "embarrassment" could serve as the grounds for a disability discrimination claim, but that's exactly what an employee attempted to argue in Lester v. City of Lafayette. In this case, a federal district court judge rejected a former city employee's argument that she was fired because officials from the City of Lafayette, Colorado (the "City") were embarrassed by her disabled daughter. 

Employers in Oakland, California take note: A voter-approved measure raising Oakland's minimum wage and creating sick leave requirements for workers in the City went into effect this week. If you have employees in Oakland, review your policies and practices to make sure you are in compliance!

This alert was featured in the October 2021 edition of The LHD/ERISA Advisor

This alert was featured in the October 2021 edition of The LHD/ERISA Advisor

The extent to which a health plan may exclude coverage for mental health treatment modalities has become an active area in ERISA litigation. In Doe v. United Behavioral Health, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43146 (N.D. Cal. March 5, 2021), a California federal court held that a plan that covers autism may not exclude specific treatments for the condition.

Supreme Court Allows Employers to Obtain Review of EEOC's Conciliation Efforts

Hinshaw's LHD/ERISA Advisor remains committed to bringing you recent legal developments that may guide your life, health, and disability litigation strategy and claims decisions. 

Hinshaw's LHD/ERISA Advisor remains committed to bringing you recent legal developments that may guide your life, health, and disability litigation strategy and claims decisions.

As we look ahead to 2021, we start our second edition of Hinshaw's LHD/ERISA Advisor by reporting on key cases that closed out 2020. Through The Advisor, our team of attorneys nationwide strive to report on legal developments and trends in the life, health, and disability practice area. Since our goal is to provide a resource that helps guide your litigation and claim decisions, we welcome any comments or suggestions that would help us tailor The Advisor to meet your needs. We hope you enjoy this issue.