Today’s Federal Register.
Today’s edition of the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) is reporting that the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (“JAGTRRA”) will put about $46.7 billion in investors’ pockets this year through the dividend tax cut: “Dividend Tax Cut Pleases Firms More Than Investors.” A slew of companies have increased their dividends since the bill was passed. The article reports that, according to Standard & Poor, 44 companies in the S&P 500-stock Index raised their dividends this month, and six initiated new dividends. In addition, the article quotes Howard Silverblatt, an analyst at S&P who tracks dividend activity, as saying that there has not been this kind of dividend activity since the 1970’s: “It’s at a point where, if you’re a company whose competitors are raising their dividends, the question is, why aren’t you?”
“Judge Gives Initial Approval To Medco Settlement“: the Journal reports in this article that a federal court judge has given preliminary approval to an agreement to settle a series of ERISA-related class action lawsuits against pharmacy benefit manager Medco Health Solutions for $42.5 million.” (Subscription required.) FT.com also reports: “Medco wins tentative approval for settlement.” However, this article–Federal Judge Grants Preliminary Approval to Medco Health Class-Action Settlement“–at Stock World (Germany) provides the most detailed coverage of the settlement.
Brian Tumulty for the Journal Washington bureau via the Poughkeepsie Journal reports on the IBM and Xerox cash balance plan cases recently handed down: “Pension rulings put pressure on fed officials: IBM says it will appeal decision.” The article provides an interesting view of how some plaintiffs’ lawyers are viewing the decision and quotes Eva Cantarella, a Michigan-based lawyer who represents Georgia Pacific employees in a pension case pending before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, as saying:
[M]any employers have amended their plans to avoid the deficiencies that occurred in the IBM and Xerox plans. A lot of them have done a pretty good job or come so close that we wouldn’t even bother bringing a suit. . .We have looked at over 40 plans and only felt compelled to file lawsuits in two.
Apparently, Cantarella also represents employees challenging the legality of pension plan changes at another paper company, Bowater.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced a new compliance assistance guide to help employers, plan sponsors, service providers and state officials understand the federal health benefits law regarding qualified medical child support orders. You can access the Compliance Guide for Qualified Medical Child Support Orders here.
KaiserNetwork.org is reporting in the Daily Health Policy Report that payment of health care premiums are a big issue in the contract negotiations with two unions representing 78,000 employees of Verizon Communications. The union is claiming that “none of the unionized telecommunications companies … require employees to share the cost of insurance premiums.”
“Pricey perk lets executives fly high“: USA Today reports.