Comp Commission to Hear Argument on Whether ERISA Applies to Opt-Out Plans

In exactly one week, the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission will hear oral argument on where jurisdiction lays for appeals of claim denials under an employer's alternative benefit plan. Last September, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen Friot determined that such appeals have to go to the commission, but the attorneys for the Dillard's department store chain are asking the commission to send the case back into the federal judicial system. Dillard's has filed a motion for summary judgment in two cases involving benefit claims by Judy Pilkington and Jonnie Vasquez, in...