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Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP Partner Presents at the IFEBP Washington Legislative Update
Attorney Katherine Hesse, a Partner at Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, served as a panel facilitator during the International Foundation of Employee Benefit’s (“IFEBP”) 2022 Washington Legislative Update. Among the panelists for the session “Panel Discussion on Benefits Issues in Today’s Climate” was the director of federal relations from NASRA, the senior vice president of CBIZ Retirement Plan Services, the vice president of content of the IFEBP, and the of director of benefits and wellness of the American Medical Association. The panel focused on the ever-changing environment and how the benefits world is evolving to those changes that have been caused by events such as COVID-19, inflation, midterm elections, and the war in Ukraine. Throughout the discussion panelists outlined issues facing both single and multiemployers, public sector issues, and common issues.
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. Ms. Hesse also served as a professional trustee for public and Taft-Hartley trust funds and as an expert witness, mediator and arbitrator of benefit fund disputes. 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, and sits on the editorial board of Benefits Quarterly and speaks and writes regularly on employment and benefits issues. 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.
United States Supreme Court Opens the Door for Special Education Students’ Right to Bypass Due Process Hearings When Also Suing School District for Money Damages Under ADA: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ___(2023)
In a unanimous ruling issued on March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of a 27-year-old deaf student who sued his Michigan school district, claiming he was denied the services of a qualified interpreter for years, and was misled by teachers and administrators about his progress in school. The student, Miguel Perez, only sought monetary damages. The Court held that he was free to sue the district for money damages due to discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that he did not have to “exhaust his administrative remedies,” prior to bringing such an action for damages. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in a case involving the rights of a disabled student requires a litigant to file and complete a due process hearing before an agency like the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) on all claims stemming from a school district's requirement to provide a student with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
United States Supreme Court Opens the Door for Special Education Students’ Right to Bypass Due Process Hearings When Also Suing School District for Money Damages Under ADA: Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools, 598 U.S. ___(2023)
In a unanimous ruling issued on March 21, 2023, the United States Supreme Court decided in favor of a 27-year-old deaf student who sued his Michigan school district, claiming he was denied the services of a qualified interpreter for years, and was misled by teachers and administrators about his progress in school. The student, Miguel Perez, only sought monetary damages. The Court held that he was free to sue the district for money damages due to discrimination under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Court found that he did not have to “exhaust his administrative remedies,” prior to bringing such an action for damages. The doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies in a case involving the rights of a disabled student requires a litigant to file and complete a due process hearing before an agency like the Bureau of Special Education Appeals (BSEA) on all claims stemming from a school district's requirement to provide a student with a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
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