David G. Schiller represents North Carolina employees in a wide range of employment law cases — including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”).
ERISA is a federal law that governs private disability insurance plans.
The complete text of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act is available in the Library section of this website.
ERISA Appeals
Many employees do not consult an attorney until they have completed the insurance company’s appeal. This is a big mistake!
In ERISA cases, the employee is required to provide documentation (primarily medical records) to the insurance company to establish whether or not she is disabled under the definition of the insurance company’s disability Plan. The Plan Administrator reviews the employee’s documentation and makes a determination as to whether or not the employee is disabled under the definition of the Plan.
Once this administrative review process is concluded, the Company informs the employee of the Plan Administrator’s decision. If the employee is dissatisfied with the decision, ERISA gives the employee the right to file a case in federal court.
ERISA does not provide a right to jury trial. Rather, the federal court conducts an administrative review of the Record from the documents that the employee has submitted. After the Plan Administrator’s review period is over, the Record is closed.
Therefore, it is imperative that the employee retain an attorney at the beginning of the administrative review process so that the attorney can assist the employee in presenting the documents to the Plan Administrator.
Contact Us • Representation through North Carolina in Employment Law
You are welcome to contact us regarding your employment law issue.
We can be contacted by telephone at (919) 789-4677 or by completing the email form.