This office handles a great many number of claims on behalf of PERA Members who are seeking disability benefits. The PERA Disability Program is administered by Standard Insurance Company. For a more detailed discussion of PERA issues, please refer to the PERA disability section of our website by clicking here.
This office recently concluded litigation in the case of Leticia Nunez v. Standard Insurance and PERA. Several important rulings on legal issues were obtained from Judge Frank Plaut who was sitting by designation as the district court judge in Kit Carson County. On behalf of Ms. Nunez, we took the position that the short term disability (STD) policy issued by Standard Insurance Company to PERA for (more…)
The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals recently issued a decision addressing two ERISA issues: (1) what constitutes a “governmental plan;” and (2) the right to trial by jury. These issues were addressed in the case of Shirley Graham v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance Company, 589 F.3d 1345 (10th Cir. 2009), decided December 29, 2009. This was an appeal out of the Northern District of Oklahoma.
At issue was Ms. Graham’s claim for long-term disability (LTD) income protection benefits. She was a former employee of the United States Postal Service (USPS). Unlike most LTD plans, Ms. Graham was insured under a plan established by the National Rural Letter Carriers Association (NRLCA), recognized by the USPS as the exclusive bargaining representative for rural letter carriers. The NRLCA procured the group long term disability policy from Hartford. USPS was not involved in those negotiations, nor did it sponsor the plan. Given these facts, the Court concluded that although Ms. Graham was considered a governmental employee of the USPS, the actual plan and policy at issue was obtained by an employee organization, and not the governmental employer. As a result, the plan was not a “governmental plan” and therefore not exempted from ERISA. (more…)