News
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Presents for the IFEBP 2020 NYSUT Member Benefits Trustee Education & Wellness Workshop
Katherine Hesse, a partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, spoke at the three-part Member Benefits Trustee Education & Wellness Workshop for the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT), an affiliate of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP). Among the other speakers were Daniel Brice and Ginger LaChapelle, both from Blitman & King, LLP in New York.
The first segment, presented by Ms. Hesse and Mr. Brice, was titled “Overview of Trustee Responsibility”. They discussed the fiduciary responsibility of benefit plan trustees, governance, administration, and how to communicate with plan professionals and participants. Ms. Hesse and Mr. Brice also presented the second segment, “Health Care Trends and Developments”. Several important facts were discussed, including healthcare costs, a legal and legislative update, Rx drugs (specifically the importation issues), mental health, and communication requirements and best practices. Finally, Ms. Hesse and Mr. Brice were joined by Ms. LaChapelle for the last segment, “Trustee Best Practices and Open Forum”. During this, the presenters discussed business improvement strategies, strategic planning, virtual board meetings, privacy and security, and a brief COVID-19 update.
Ms. Hesse practices primarily in labor, employment and employee benefits law. She serves as counsel to Fortune 500 companies, emerging businesses, government, tax-exempt organizations and large Taft-Hartley and governmental trusts. She advises clients on employment and benefits issues, and has litigated employment and benefits cases before state and federal trial and appellate courts, administrative agencies and arbitrators. She led her team of attorneys to be named the only firm in New England and one of only 11 in the United States to the special ERISA fiduciary litigation panel for one of the world’s largest insurance companies. She serves on the Board of Directors of the International Foundation and as Chair of its Government Liaison Committee. Ms. Hesse, a CEBS Compliant ISCEBS Fellow, was inducted into the new ISCEBS Hall of Fame in 2018. She received her B.A. degree from Smith College and her J.D. degree from the Boston University School of Law.
Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Receives Favorable Decision for Town of Dracut
On April 11, 2023, MHTL Attorneys Peter Mello and Madison Harris-Parks represented the Town of Dracut, and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction order requiring, among other things, that the Defendant homeowners cease renting out their pool to the public. The case, Town of Dracut by and Through Its Building Inspector vs. Nason, Gilbert et al., was initiated by the Town after the Defendants failed to comply with the Town’s associated underlying zoning enforcement order. The Town requested the injunction Read More
EXTENSION OF MUNICIPAL RELIEF MEASURES - INCLUDING OPEN MEETING LAW REMOTE OPTION - SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR
The option for public bodies in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to hold public meetings remotely or in a hybrid fashion, which came into play at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been extended by the General Court for another two years, until March 31, 2025. The Governor signed the legislation, which will be codified at Chapter 2 of the Acts of 2023, on March 29, 2023. Because of the inclusion of an emergency preamble, the law goes into effect immediately.
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