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 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.

Renaker Hasselman LLP is proud to announce that both its founding partners have been selected to the 2015 Northern California Super Lawyers list for Employee Benefits/ERISA. Teresa Renaker was also named to the Northern California Top 50 Women Attorneys and Top 100 Attorneys.

For Margo Hasselman, this is the third straight year appearing on the Northern California Super Lawyers list, after four years on the Rising Stars list. In addition, Margo was named to the Top 50 Women Attorneys list in 2014.

Teresa has been named to Northern California Super Lawyers for nine straight years, to Top 50 Women Attorneys for eight straight years, and to Top 100 Attorneys for four straight 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.

At Renaker Hasselman LLP, we are proud to represent employees, retirees, the disabled, and people transitioning in or out of jobs. We are equally comfortable in litigation, negotiation, administrative benefits claims, or simply providing legal advice to help clients understand their rights. We relish the tricky cases and the questions at the cutting edge of employee benefits law. Please feel free to contact us with questions or requests for representation at 415-653-1733 or by email at info@renakerhasselman.com. We are located at 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 944, San Francisco, CA 94104.

President-Elect Paulette Brown of the American Bar Association has appointed Teresa Renaker to a second one-year term as a member of the ABA’s Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, commencing with the adjournment of the 2015 ABA Annual Meeting. The mission of the SOGI Commission is to promote full and equal participation in the legal profession by persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities. More information on the SOGI Commission is available at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/sexual_orientation.html.

This summer, Teresa Renaker will speak on several topics relating to ERISA in webinars and at live conferences. On June 22, 2015, Teresa will speak on an ALI-CLE audio webcast titled “Tibble v. Edison: Supreme Court Addresses Fiduciary Duty of Retirement Plan Trustees.” Teresa Renaker and Nancy Ross will discuss the case. Information and registration at http://www.ali-cle.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=courses.course&course_code=TSWY25.

On July 9, 2015, Teresa will speak on a webinar titled “Supreme Court: The Decisions Affecting ERISA Plans, Participants and Providers.” The webinar is sponsored by the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. Teresa and her co-panelists will analyze the Supreme Court decisions affecting ERISA plans, participants and providers, evaluate their impact on future litigation, discuss steps clients should take in response to the decisions, and gaze into the crystal ball for next Term’s cases. Information and registration at http://shop.americanbar.org/ebus/ABAEventsCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?productId=188385002.

At the Western Benefits Conference, San Francisco, on July 21, 2015, Teresa will give a talk on “Who’s Getting Sued in the Retirement Industry?” In this interactive session, Teresa and R. Bradford Huss will address some of the latest litigation including Tibble, Dudenhoeffer and GreatBanc. Information and registration at http://westernbenefits.org/.