Netflix Ditches $765 ERISA Penalty Order in Ninth Circuit Appeal

Netflix Inc. convinced the Ninth Circuit to undo a court order requiring it to pay $765 in penalties to an employee’s husband based on its delayed response to an inquiry about the company health plan.

There’s “insufficient support in the record” for statutory penalties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit said Wednesday in an unpublished opinion. Netflix disclosed all required documents “as soon as administratively practicable” and didn’t act in bad faith given the business interruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic, the court said.

The appeals court also ruled that ...