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Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit clarified its position on whether or not district courts may consider extrinsic evidence in ERISA cases.  In Helton v. AT&T, Inc., et al. (No. 11-2153, March 6, 2013), the Fourth Circuit confirmed that courts may consider evidence outside the administrative record, when necessary and appropriate, in order to determine whether a plan administrator abused its discretion. Cases brought under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act…

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new poster describing employee rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that covered employers must post by March 8, 2013.  Additionally, in February of this year, the DOL issued updated model forms that eligible employers must now use when addressing employee requests for FMLA leave.  These forms do not substantively alter past FMLA forms, and will remain in effect through February 28, 2015. The FMLA

In an unpublished decision last week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment dismissing a plaintiff’s claims for failure to accommodate, discriminatory termination and retaliatory termination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). Emergency room nurse Vivienne Wulff alleged that her employer Sentara Healthcare, Inc. violated the ADA  when it took her off the active work schedule due to a form she had submitted regarding her ability to work that listed a total

Just because “Virginia is for Lovers” doesn’t mean that our it welcomes trysts “al fresco.” What does it really mean to be “exposed” in “public” anyway?  For the purposes of three Virginia laws, the answer is the difference between innocent behavior and a crime. Indecent Exposure is a crime set forth in Virginia Code sec. 18.2-387.  Under this law, it is illegal to make an obscene display of his private parts “in any public place,