Kate Presenting at CLE on Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Cases

On August 13, 2013, Kate will be presenting at a CLE on U.S. v. Windsor and Hollingsworth v. Perry, the United States Supreme Court cases recently issued regarding same-sex marriage.

In U.S. v. Windsor, the Supreme Court determined that the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as only between opposite sex partners - thereby excluding married same-sex couples from certain federal programs and benefits - was unconstitutional.

Hollingsworth v. Perry involved Proposition 8 in California, which amended the California constitution to ban same-sex marriage. The case effectively reinstated same-sex marriage by allowing the trial court decision in Hollingsworth v. Perry to stand.  

Check out the CLE at: http://www.minncle.org/seminardetail.aspx?ID=104981401

Happy Birthday to Barney the Office Para-Beagle!

We would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the office para-beagle! He is 13 years young, and a vital part of the Law Office of Katherine L. MacKinnon experience. He greets all visitors with enthusiasm. He is also a taskmaster - if we don't get into the office and start working in the morning he barks until we do. Thank you Barney for all your hard work, and Happy Birthday!!

Supreme Court: Two new ERISA cases!

The Supreme Court just accepted a new ERISA case with a question we at the Law Office of Katherine L. MacKinnon are excited to hear the answer to: When does a statute of limitations begin to accrue on an adverse benefits determination? We'll be holding our breath for this one...

http://www.bna.com/high-court-agrees-n17179873388/

A decision was just released earlier this week on U.S. Airways v. McCutchen, another ERISA case:

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-1285_i4dk.pdf

Article on DOMA - Changes in Employee Benefits to come?

There could be big changes coming in employee benefits when DOMA is ruled upon...

http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2013/04/11/the-fate-of-doma-and-whats-at-stake-with-employee-benefits

I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me…

I Always Feel Like Somebody’s Watching Me…

                When you are receiving short or long term disability benefits, or if you have applied for disability benefits, chances are the insurance company will do some investigation of your claim. Some types of investigation you will expect: they might ask to collect your medical records, or request permission to speak to your doctor.

                Am I being followed? But insurers are too wily to stop there. They can also have a surveillance company follow you on foot or in a car, take pictures or videotape your activities, and report back. The surveillance company will try to catch you doing something you have claimed you cannot do. You have a back injury, but here you are shoveling snow. Or you have a disabling neck injury, but they discovered you water-skiing. You have chronic fatigue, but they caught you taking rock climbing lessons.

Surveillance can be harmful to your disability claim without your activities being so obviously inconsistent with your disabilities. Video may simply show you acting more able than your medical condition may suggest – for example, you have an anxiety disorder, but the surveillance team has you on tape at the mall. This may not be inconsistent with your doctor’s recommendations; in fact your doctor may have suggested you challenge your limitations. But for someone looking for evidence that you are exaggerating your disability, this may be all the ammunition he or she needs to begin a full investigation into your file to find more evidence to support terminating your benefits.

Who is checking out your Facebook? More and more, insurers are doing internet investigation. An insurance company may do anything from Googling your name, checking public databases for any information on you, and checking the online social media sites you participate in to see what comments, pictures, updates, or other information you are posting. Many times when we look through a claim file, we see printouts from the client’s Facebook profile, status updates, pictures from a blog, or comments the client has made online. These can be used as evidence of you participating in activities you have said you cannot do. This information could also be used to prove you can work – the insurer will argue if you have the ability to coherently rant about your friends political views, there are many other jobs you could potentially do. This is particularly true in cases where you are claiming mental impairments that make it impossible for you to think clearly and concentrate on work. If you can interact, socialize, and communicate effectively online, an argument can be made that you could function in a workplace.

What should I do? You should always follow your doctor’s orders, and should not purposefully change your activities simply because the insurance company may be watching. Just be aware that your activities are under scrutiny, and do not be surprised if an insurer undertakes surveillance on you at one time or another during the life of your claim. If you are denied benefits or have your disability benefits terminated, and want more information on what to do next, check out our previous blog post at http://erisadvocate.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-to-do-if-youre-disability-benefits.html or contact us at the Law Office of Katherine L. MacKinnon: www.katemackinnon.com.

Interested in Converting? Tread Quickly and Carefully!

If you are leaving work for a health related reason - for example medical leave for treatment of an illness, short or long term disability, or other medical reason - it may be imperative to find out about whether you can take your life insurance policy with you when you go! 

Usually, if you have life insurance through a group policy at work, when you leave employment you have a right to convert that insurance into an individual policy. This right is guaranteed in the majority of states (see a list of some, but not all, states statutes at the end of this blog post for examples.)

When you purchase a life insurance policy, you are usually required to answer questions about your current and past health conditions, and maybe submit to some type of medical exam. This is so the insurer can decide how big of a risk you are,whether they even want to give you a policy, and how much they want to charge you in premiums. Their investigation of your health is called medical underwriting. 

However, when you convert your group policy from work, you do not have to undergo any medical underwriting. You are guaranteed the right to continue your policy, although it will likely be for a higher premium than you were previously paying.

If you are leaving your job for a health related reason, it may be difficult for you to obtain life insurance again because of your medical history. It is therefore very important to find out the costs of and process for converting your group policy to an individual policy. In some states depending on the insurance policy's language, an insurer may not be required to notify you. So it may be the responsibility of the employee to find out whether they can convert their life insurance, and how to do it.  

The moral of the story is: be proactive and find out the price and procedure for converting your life insurance policy. Be especially sure to find out the time limit to submit any required premiums and paperwork, since most policies have a very short time frame in which to complete the conversion process. Request the paperwork, even if you are unsure whether or not you want to go through with the conversion, so you have everything you need in case you do decide to convert.

(State statutes regarding life insurance conversion from a group policy into an individual policy: Arkansas, Ark. Code Ann. §23-83-122; California, Cal. Ins. Code §10209(b); Delaware, 18 De. Code Ann. Tit. 18 §3125; Georgia, O.C.G.A. §33-27-5; Illinois, 215 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 5/231.1(h); Massachusetts, Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 175 §134A; Minnesota, 61A.09, subd. 1(h); New Jersey, N.J. Stat. Ann. §17B:27-73; New York, N.Y. Ins. Law §4216(d); Pennsylvania, 40 Pa. Cons. Stat. Ann. §532.7; Tennessee, Tenn. Code Ann. §56-7-2305(c).)

Pension Investing News - Ameriprise Suit

Check out this article about the pending lawsuit filed on behalf of Ameriprise employees regarding the investments in their 401(K) plans:

"In the suit, the Ameriprise 401(k) participants allege that the company breached its fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 by offering proprietary-fund options that allegedly were imprudent and unreasonably expensive, and that paid fees to the firm and its subsidiaries."

Full Article:
http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20130113/REG/301139999