News & Publications

A recent Seventh Circuit decision affirms the principle that an ERISA severance plan can reserve to the employer discretion over who is eligible for severance benefits. The case is Carlson v. Northrop Grumman Severance Plan, No. 22-1764, __ F.4th __, 2023 WL 3299703 (7th Cir. May 8, 2023). The case involved former Northrop Grumman employees who were laid off in 2012 and claimed a right to severance under Northrop Grumman's severance plan. But the plan said [...]

While companies – particularly emerging companies – may have limited capacity to address dispute resolution, such terms can be essential in their agreements should a dispute later emerge. As no one size fits all, either arbitration or litigation may be appropriate based on several factors, including the type of commercial agreement (and potential disputes), confidentiality concerns or desire for more (or less) discovery. When the agreement is cross-border, arbitration is likely to be superior to [...]

During recent oral arguments, justices for the Supreme Court of the United States seemed conflicted on whether to upend the existing standard that allows an employer to refuse religious accommodations to its employees if the employer can show that granting the accommodation would involve more than a "de minimis" cost to the employer. Quick Hits The Supreme Court heard arguments in Groff v. DeJoy, a case over whether the more-than-de-minimis-cost test for refusing religious accommodations under Title [...]