Employee Benefits

Our Professionals:

Ashley Hedge | Andrea O’Brien | Grace Ristuccia | Jeanne Floyd | Jessica Kuester | Matthew Craig | Vi Nguyen

What is “Employee Benefits”?

It refers to designing and implementing compensation and benefit arrangements ranging from qualified retirement plans and deferred compensation plans to health and welfare programs and equity awards.  We work closely with our clients’ HR, legal, tax, financial and benefits professionals to ensure that their benefit programs not only comply with the labyrinth of technical legal requirements under ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code, but that they also meet their overall business and employee-relations goals.

Retirement Plans

Pension, 401(k), Profit-sharing and Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

• Plan Design and Drafting

• Tax-qualification and submissions to the IRS

• Compliance assistance with all IRS and DOL filings and inquiries

• Correction of Plan Errors Under government voluntary correction programs

• Plan governance and fiduciary responsibility

Equity Programs and Executive Compensation Agreements

Stock option plans, restricted stock plans, phantom stock, and SARs; supplemental executive retirement programs (SERPs); excess benefit plans and rabbi trusts; nonqualified deferred compensation plans; incentive compensation and other performance-based programs; retention, severance, and change-in-control agreements.

• Plan design and drafting

• Compliance assistance under 409A, 457(b) and 457(f)

Benefit Plan Administrative Support

• Benefit claims disputes, including ERISA claims and appeals processes

• Negotiation of vendor contracts to support benefit plan administration and fiduciary oversight of benefit plans

Health and Welfare Plans

Medical, cafeteria, and flexible benefit plans; medical and dependent spending accounts; wellness initiatives; educational assistance programs; transit programs; life and disability insurance programs; and severance plans.

• Plan design, including restructuring to meet Federal Health Reform and other laws

• Plan drafting, including SPDs and Open Enrollment Materials

• Compliance assistance for all filings and inquiries

• Compliance initiatives under HIPPA and Mental Health Parity

Transaction Support

• Negotiation of employee benefits issues relating to corporate stock acquisitions, asset purchases, mergers, and divestitures

• Support of post-closing benefits integration

Training

Click here to learn more about the training and education opportunities we offer clients.

• Management and General Counsel training on employee benefits issues

• Fiduciary responsibility

• HIPAA medical privacy and security

• Fee disclosure rules

• 409A deferred compensation