Practice Areas

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Overview

Approach
The provision of employee benefits strengthens the employment relationship, but also involves important financial, legal and regulatory implications. Your Firm's Employee Benefits Practice Group guides businesses as they evaluate and implement a wide variety of benefit and workplace options.

Attorneys
The Employee Benefit Practice is part of the Your Firm Employment Relations Practice Group, which, with more than 50 attorneys, is one of the largest in Washington DC and on the East Coast.

Clients
Our attorneys provide comprehensive employee benefits counsel to a diverse set of companies, not-for-profits and governmental entities. Our clients are located throughout the Midwest and across the nation. The workforces of our clients are large and small, white- and blue-collar, unionized and union-free. We also provide legal guidance to third party administrators of health and welfare and flexible benefit plans, benefit consultants and insurance brokers.

Practice
Our experience extends to all areas employee benefits and executive compensation. Our work includes the following areas of focus:

Executive and Incentive Compensation
Our attorneys help businesses attract and retain key executives through mutually advantageous compensation agreements, including:

  • Creation of numerous traditional non-qualified executive deferred compensation arrangements and supplemental executive retirement plans, using rabbi trusts, insurance and other funding vehicles for both privately and publicly held companies
  • Creation of non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements and incentive plans that are compliant with newly enacted Internal Revenue Code Section 409A
  • Creation of stock option plans, stock appreciation right plans, restricted stock agreements, performance share plans and performance unit plans for both privately and publicly held companies
  • Creation of bonus plans, long term incentive arrangements, and short term incentive arrangements for both privately and publicly held companies
  • Work with compensation committees to ensure compliance with tax and reporting requirements
  • Planning for and analyzing Golden Parachute implications under Internal Revenue Code §280G for both buyers and sellers

Qualified Retirement Plans
Our work in the area of retirement plans spans numerous industries, workforce profiles and plan types. We seek to create plans with maximum employee relations impact, yet simplicity of administration and minimized risk to employers. Examples include:

  • Experience in all types of retirement plans including pension, profit-sharing, 401(k), ESOP, cash balance, and other qualified plans
  • Experience in all types of retirement plans available to tax-exempt and governmental entities including 403(b), 457(b) and 457(f) plans
  • Establishment of qualified retirement plans and related documentation requirements including summary plan descriptions, board resolutions, ancillary procedures (such as QDROs, QMCSOs, and investment policies) and obtaining favorable determinations from the Internal Revenue Service
  • Compliance with the Tax Code, ERISA and other benefit laws related to qualified retirement plans and preparation of amendments necessary to maintain such compliance
  • Preparation, filing and other compliance activities related to disclosure and reporting requirements of qualified retirement plans including Forms 5500 and summary annual reports
  • Representation of plans in Department of Labor and Internal Revenue Service audits
  • Analysis, consultation and advice concerning employers' maintenance of prototype retirement plans offered by other institutions such as banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies

Health and Welfare Plans
Our attorneys help clients draft and establish employee benefit plans for health, dental, life, disability, severance and other benefits. Our work includes:

  • Ensuring compliance with ERISA, HIPAA, COBRA and applicable law and minimizing risk of benefit claims by participants.
  • Analysis, consultation and advice concerning employers' maintenance of prototype health and welfare plans drafted by insurance companies, third-party administrators and others
  • Advice and consultation concerning maintenance of liability coverage protecting employers against claims and litigation by plan participants
  • Analysis and assistance in establishing policies and procedures and maintaining compliance with HIPAA, COBRA, ERISA and other laws relating to health and welfare plans
  • Establishment of and maintaining compliance with legal requirements related to cafeteria plans

Planning
Our clients seek guidance in understanding the benefits implications of a wide range of corporate transactions and strategic decisions. Examples include:

  • Acquisition and merger advice, including plan consolidation, defined benefit plan funding, multi-employer plan withdrawal liability and resolution options, COBRA continuation, and retiree health benefit analysis and advice on cost-saving
  • Self-funding welfare plans utilizing IRC §501(c)(9) (VEBA) trust arrangements
  • Benefit plan consolidation involving investments in employer securities and unusual ESOP allocation issues
  • Retirement planning for executives

Benefits and Employment Relations Issues
Benefits decisions often affect employee relations, at both the individual and workforce level. We help clients resolve such issues, including:

  • Negotiation with unions related to benefits-related issues and arbitration of benefits-related grievances.
  • Communications of various aspects of employee benefit plans with unions and union members.
  • In-depth analysis and advice concerning employees who cannot or will not work and dealing with related issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, workers compensation laws, short-term and long-term disability benefits and employee communication issues
  • Creation of the Your Firm Family and Medical Leave Reference Manual, which many of our clients find invaluable in dealing with FMLA issues
  • Drafting of employee handbook sections related to employee benefits, leaves of absence, and attendance

Litigation, Mediation and other Dispute Resolution
When employee benefit disputes arise, Your Firm represents clients to aggressively protect company interests. Examples include:

  • Litigating subrogation claims through the state and federal courts of appeals including "make whole" issues under ERISA plans
  • Defense of benefit and employment claims including effective use of ERISA pre-emption defenses and defenses relating to alleged benefit commitments under collective bargaining agreements
  • Employer representation relating to multiemployer pension and health plans
  • Representation of trustees in jointly-administered Taft-Hartley plans and assistance in resolving disputes and deadlocks between trustees
  • Workers compensation representation of self-funded plans through the state administrative and court system to the Supreme Court level, including workers compensation exclusivity issues under §102.35(3) of the Wisconsin Statutes

Third Party Administrators
A significant part of the employee benefits practice at Your Firm is performed on behalf of third party administrators of health and welfare and flexible benefit plans. Your Firm has drafted cafeteria plans, medical reimbursement plans and dependent care plans for third party administrators throughout the country. Our employee benefits attorneys have also performed a number of substantial projects for third party administrators relating to the new claims appeals regulations, COBRA, administration, and other health and welfare-related issues.

Benefit Consultants and Insurance Brokers
Your Firm also represents a variety of benefit consultants and insurance brokers. We frequently assist these clients not only with their own unique needs (such as compliance with Gramm-Leach-Bliley and HIPAA's business associate rules), but also with respect to the employee benefit needs of their clients.

HIPAA
Our HIPAA practice assists clients across the country. We have developed forms, policies and explanations of the law that assist employers, plan sponsors and third-party administrators in complying with the complex requirements of HIPAA.

Cost-Reduction Techniques for Health Care Obligations
Your Firm has successfully helped clients reduce the cost of health care benefits, a significant item in any company budget. Our services include analysis and consultation concerning previous commitments, cost-saving measures, legal implications of benefit plan redesign, communication of changes to retirees and active participants, coordination of efforts by brokers, actuaries, and other benefit consultants, and other related issues.

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