In a recent long term disability insurance claim against Aetna insurance company, Aetna denied long term disability benefits after 24 months in accordance with the mental nervous limitation clause contained in the claimant’s disability policy. Rather than appeal Aetna’s long term disability denial, the claimant filed a claim of discrimination with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (“MCAD”). The claimant alleged that limiting his benefits for a mental/nervous disability violated both Massachusetts law and the Americans with Disability Act of 1990 (ADA). After several years of reviewing the charge, the MCAD decided to set the charge for a public hearing.
Aetna and claimant’s previous employer filed a lawsuit against MCAD arguing that as a matter of law ERISA preempts this ADA claim and they have no right to continue with a public hearing on the matter. The MCAD disagreed and after extensive litigation on the issue, the First Circuit Court of Appeals issued a legal opinion on July 20, 2015 which held that the public hearing should move forward and that further legal analysis must be conducted in order to determine if this claimants ADA claim is preempted by ERISA laws…
All Things Chronic 