If a qualified plan, like a 401(k) plan or an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), offers employer securities as an investment, and the participant, on termination of employment, takes a total plan distribution (a lump-sum distribution) that includes actual shares...
ERISA and tax-favored retirement plans are primarily intended to provide retirement income to plan participants and their beneficiaries. Unrestricted access to retirement savings before retirement generally is not permitted, but plans, particularly 401(k) plans...
The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule that prohibits new non-compete agreements with workers, with limited exceptions for business transactions. The rule provides that existing non-compete agreements with non-senior executives become unenforceable as...
Section 162(m) limits the deductibility of taxable compensation paid in any tax year to covered employees of publicly held corporations and certain affiliates to the extent such compensation exceeds $1 million (per covered employee). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed...
Employers sometimes require employees to provide a specific amount of notice before resigning. This is likely set forth in the terms of an employment agreement. During the notice period, employers may instruct the employee not to come to work, but the employer...
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans, or SERPs, are structured to avoid most rules that apply to qualified plans that limit the ultimate benefit that can be derived from the plan. SERPs are simply contractual promises to participants to pay an amount to them...
Scroll through our new Practice Videos Resource Kit and sample our vast video collection of topics in 26 practice areas. Want to learn more about ERISA litigation, health savings accounts, cafeteria plans? Grab some ear buds and listen to these and more topics...
When an employer contemplates an acquisition or merger, or a special project, it often wants to be sure that it can keep certain employees either during or after the corporate transaction or event. To incentivize employees to stay with the employer, retention agreements...
The 2024 proxy season is close. Public companies should review their policies, procedures, and disclosures related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) statements and commitments. Think of climate change and...
Executive perquisites, particularly at public companies, have received significant attention (much of it negative) over the last several years, resulting in many public companies cutting back on the level of benefits offered. Still, perquisites often are featured...
Long before the closing agreement is signed, the acquiring company has to decide what to do with employees who transfer with the bargain and the benefit plans in which they’ll participate. In asset acquisitions where the buyer does not acquire the seller's...
Fiduciary risk in sponsoring health and other welfare plans has grown with the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (which includes the No Surprises Act). Cost and expense transparency can lead to participants’...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its long-anticipated final rule which revises the standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The change will impact employee benefits...
All qualified plans, including 401(k) plans, must comply with the nondiscrimination standards of the Internal Revenue Code which prohibit discrimination, in benefits or contributions, in favor of highly compensated employees. 401(k) plans have a special nondiscrimination...
Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to transform the benefits team experience. Beyond an AI administrative assistant guiding employee decision-making, generative AI has clear potential to be a strategic partner to companies and benefits teams, deciding what...