Employee Benefits & Compensation

Laws and regulations covering employee benefits can change and new rulings can make standard practice a legal liability. Our team of attorneys monitors changing regulations related to employee benefits and can help you address retirement plans, welfare plans, fiduciary liability, and taxation of employee benefits. 

Retirement Plans 

We have extensive experience with retirement plans and welfare plans—including profit-sharing, 401(k), ESOPs, and IRS qualified defined benefit pension plans and defined contribution plans. We work with you and your vendors, service providers, accountants, actuaries, and financial professionals to provide safe, attractive retirement benefits for employees at the lowest administrative cost.  

Our services include IRS and DOL compliance, plan drafting and amending, Determination Letter submissions, Pension Protection Act issues, administration issues, audits and IRS and DOL remedial procedures. Also, we assist with non-qualified plans offered for the employer’s workforce in general, including Section 457 plans, and special plans for executives. 

Multi-employer and Governmental Plans 

Our attorneys have decades of experience representing Taft-Hartley multi-employer and governmental plans. We routinely handle complex issues such as withdrawal liability and Pension Protection Act compliance. We guide plans through DOL audits, IRS compliance and Determination Letter filings, and the unique issues facing governmental employers. We work closely with our labor attorneys when collective bargaining issues intertwine with benefits matters. 

Fiduciary Advice 

We work with trustees of ERISA plans to guide them in accordance with the fiduciary standards imposed by federal law. Protecting individuals from liability in such a complex and changing area is an important part of insuring plans can attract and retain qualified individuals to successfully administer their plans for the benefit of plan participants. 

Health and Welfare Benefits 

Our team routinely helps employers with health and welfare benefit matters arising under ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, USERRA, and the ACA. We help with drafting and amending plans and IRS and DOL compliance. We review QDROs and QMCSOs and advise on VEBA and Cafeteria Plan issues. Our attorneys are always available when a client has a quick question related to a particular employee’s question. 

Executive Compensation 

Our executive compensation practice is focused on structuring non-qualified arrangements. We design and help our clients implement various packages such as phantom stock plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, “rabbi” trust arrangements, stock purchase and option agreements, and other incentive or bonus plans, to supplement or replace traditional vehicles such as 401(k) plans and ESOPs. We also work with lawyers in our Labor & Employment team to coordinate severance packages that implement special deferred compensation components. 

ERISA Litigation 

Our attorneys defend employers, plans, insurers, and third-party administrators in class actions, breach of fiduciary duty actions, DOL investigations, and litigation related to health, welfare, and pension benefits. In addition to defending ERISA and employee benefits cases, we counsel employers and fiduciaries in anticipation of litigation about employee benefits issues.