Compliance Stuff

This month’s  Friday Five  covers recent decisions on credibility pertaining to long COVID symptoms, weighing of disability evidence, overpayment accounting, preemption of state law claims, and a motion to compel discovery on financial incentives and other information. District of Vermont grants insurer’s motion for judgment on the record in long COVID case finding the plaintiff was not credible.   Plaintiff was terminated from his engineering position because “his engagement ended with his client.”   He submitted a claim for short-term disability (“STD”) and long-term disability (“LTD”) benefits, alleging inability to work due to symptoms of long COVID that pre-dated his termination .  The District of Vermont did not reach the question of whether the  de novo  or arbitrary and capricious standard applied because it found the plaintiff’s claim did not survive even under the broader  de novo  standard, due in part to the plaintiff’s lack ...

  The question of who can access paid leave for a mental health condition depends on several factors, from the place of employment to the place of work.  “Can I take paid leave to treat my mental health condition(s)?” It’s a question that comes up often for both employers and employees alike, especially in an age where people have become much more comfortable discussing mental health in the workplace.   And for good reason.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) , over 1 in 5 adults suffer from some form of mental illness, many of whom are completely debilitated as a result.   However, the question of who can access paid leave for a mental health condition depends on several factors, from the place of employment to the place of work.   Let’s take a look at the current landscape of paid leave as it relates to mental health in the United States at the federal and state level, and the direction employers themselves are headed to stay competit...