Renaker Hasselman Scott LLP is proud to announce that all three partners were selected to 2016 Northern California Super Lawyers lists in the employee benefits category. Teresa Renaker and Margo Hasselman Greenough were both selected to the 2016 Northern California Super Lawyers list, and Kirsten Scott was selected to the 2016 Northern California Rising Stars list. In addition, Teresa was named to the Northern California Top 50 Women Attorneys and Top 100 Attorneys. All three also were named to the Top Women Attorneys in Northern California list.

For Kirsten, this is the third straight year appearing on the Northern California Rising Stars list, and for Margo, this is the fourth straight year appearing on the Northern California Super Lawyers list, after four years on the Rising Stars list. Teresa has been named to Northern California Super Lawyers for the last ten years, to Top 50 Women Attorneys for nine straight years, and to Top 100 Attorneys for five years.

Super Lawyers uses a rigorous selection process based on independent research and peer evaluation by practice area. Only 5 percent of lawyers in a state are named to Super Lawyers each year, and only 2.5% of attorneys in the state are selected to the Rising Stars list each year.

Margo Hasselman and Teresa Renaker will speak at the National Employment Lawyers Association 2016 Annual Convention in Los Angeles, June 22-25. Margo will speak on a panel on “Deferred Compensation Issues In Negotiating Severance Agreements” and Teresa will moderate and speak on a panel on “Advocating For The Rights of LGBT Employees.”

The California State Teachers Retirement System has reversed its denial of a 75 percent survivor pension benefit to Renaker Hasselman’s client, the widow of a CalSTRS retiree. The couple, who had been together for 32 years, married following the Supreme Court’s Perry decision, which restored same-sex marriage in California. Unfortunately, the retiree spouse died shortly after. The retirement system initially denied a survivor benefit based on the failure to satisfy a waiting period between the status change and the death, but reversed the denial based on the couple’s prior registered domestic partnership.

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act is the civil rights provision of the ACA, outlawing discrimination in health programs and activities based on a person’s race, color, national origin, sex or disability. The Department of Health and Human Services issued expansive proposed regulations addressing Section 1557 in September 2015, and it expects to issue final regulations later this year.

Kirsten recently spoke on two panels addressing Section 1557 of the ACA and the HHS proposed regulations, including litigation trends and the provision of health benefits for transgender employees:

ABA Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section, Midwinter Symposium on Insurance and Employee Benefits, Clearwater Beach, Florida, Jan. 16, 2016: Surf’s Up! New Waves of Litigation Regarding Healthcare Provider Fraud and ACA Interference and Discrimination Claims (panelist).

ABA Labor and Employment Section, Employee Benefits Committee Midwinter Meeting, Las Vegas, Feb. 11, 2016: ACA’s Expansive Nondiscrimination Provision and Transgender Health Benefits (panelist).

She was also quoted in a Bloomberg BNA post on the topic on Feb. 26, 2016.

Teresa Renaker has been selected for inclusion in the 2016 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, an honor extended to fewer than three percent of Northern California’s registered attorneys. Ms. Renaker appears on the list for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, and is the only Northern California plaintiff’s attorney to appear on the list.

The firm represents a former executive of Lucasfilm LLC on his claim for failure to pay a bonus. On November 12, the court denied Lucasfilm’s motion to dismiss the case, clearing the way for the claim to proceed.

We are pleased to announce that Kirsten Scott has joined Renaker Hasselman LLP as the Firm’s third partner. Kirsten brings extensive litigation experience to the Firm, including as a member of the trial team in Beeson v. Fireman’s Fund Ins. Co., in which a seven-month trial resulted in a $36.8 million judgment for a group of retirees who suffered losses to their retirement benefits. With the addition of Kirsten, the Firm expands its practice areas to include medical leaves of absence, employment discrimination, unpaid wages, and employment misclassification.

Kirsten comes to Renaker Hasselman LLP after eight years at a national employee benefits and employment law firm in Oakland. She has represented employees and retirees in a wide variety of benefits and employment law matters. You can learn more about Kirsten by visiting her profile page.  To contact Kirsten, you can email her at kirsten@renakerhasselman.com.user.s408.sureserver.com or call 415-653-1733.

With this growth, Renaker Hasselman LLP adds another stellar lawyer committed to excellent representation of employees and retirees. We are thrilled to be able to broaden and deepen our employment and benefits practice.  Please feel free to contact us regarding your legal situation.

The firm, along with co-counsel, filed a proposed class action against Aetna Health Inc. and a California affiliate to eliminate Aetna’s arbitrary cap on treatment for autism spectrum disorders. Plaintiff Anna M. Sanzone-Ortiz, who has employer-sponsored health insurance for herself and her family through Aetna Health of California Inc., says that her son’s health provider recommended 36 hours per week of Applied Behavioral Analysis to treat his autism, but Aetna’s policies limit the benefit to 20 hours per week. Renaker Hasselman LLP represents Sanzone-Ortiz along with co-counsel Jordan M. Lewis of Kelly Uustal, PLC in Fort Lauderdale, FL. The suit alleges that the 20-hour cap violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the California Mental Health Parity Act. As Lewis said to news sources, ““[Applied behavior analysis] is generally considered the gold standard for treating autism…We believe Anna and others like her should have a fair shot at a real decision as to what sort of hours per week are appropriate, instead of having what we think is an arbitrary cap.” Medical literature suggests no less than 30 hours of treatment per week for individuals with autism. Sanzone-Ortiz seeks an order requiring Aetna to cover medically necessary ABA treatment regardless of the 20-hour cap and compensation for out-of-pocket expenses incurred due to the cap. Further coverage of the litigation appears here.