DOL Comes Up Short in Battle Against Forum Selection Clauses

The Labor Department struck out once again in its ongoing effort to stop employers from forcing lawsuits over workers’ benefits into the employer’s preferred court (In re: Lorna Clause, 8th Cir., No. 16-2607, petition for writ of mandamus denied 9/27/16).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit denied an Arizona woman’s request to undo a court order forcing her to seek disability benefits from her employer in a Missouri federal court. The woman argued that the forum selection clause in her employer’s disability plan—which required litigation over plan benefits to be brought in Missouri—violated ...