Until recently, employer matching contributions under qualified plans were required to be conditioned solely upon employee contributions made to the plan. However, one of the many changes enacted by the Consolidated...more
Do you have an employment agreement? Should you have an employment agreement? We are often asked whether founders need written employment agreements with their companies. Every company's culture is different. Often founders...more
6/7/2024
/ At-Will Employment ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Investors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Vesting
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) broadly banning non-competition (“non-compete”) agreements nationwide. With limited exceptions, the Final Rule prohibits employers...more
5/31/2024
/ Competition ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
Five years ago, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) made several significant changes to certain distributions required pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section...more
Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (“PLESAs”) are a special retirement plan feature created under SECURE ACT 2.0. PLESAs were first permitted to be made available to participants as of January 1, 2024. PLESAs, which...more
4/8/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
Many founders are familiar with tax-exempt charitable organizations. These nonprofit entities—which are commonly known by reference to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code—are operated exclusively for a broad range...more
On November 17, 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 4516, amending General Obligation Law Section 5-336 (GOL 5-336). As set forth in our earlier alert from when the law was first enacted,...more
Most founders are familiar with Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides a tax exemption for the sale of Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS). Less well known is Section 1202's cousin, Section 1045, which...more
The menu of tax planning options for founders includes many strategies designed to minimize income taxes upon liquidity events and to provide for wealth preservation across multiple generations. To achieve those benefits,...more
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for...more
Today marks the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency that first began on March 13, 2020. The end of the public health emergency has a wide range of implications for employer sponsored benefit plans. This alert...more
The ability to receive an income tax deduction for donations of private company stock can be a useful tax planning tool for founders. Assuming the stock has been held for more than one year, a founder can generally deduct the...more
On November 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released new regulations (the “New Regulations”) further clarifying the rules governing how retirement plan fiduciaries should approach plan investments under the...more
On September 26, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2022-45, extending the deadline to amend eligible retirement plans (including nongovernmental qualified plans and 403(b) plans and individual retirement...more
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Harassment Act of 2021” (the “Act”). The Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) to give individuals asserting...more
Founders and other employees of private companies commonly employ sales of stock in the secondary market as a means of accessing cash prior to an offering or exit. Such sales are typically structured as a direct purchase of...more
The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) recently issued Notice 2022-33 (the “Notice”), providing extensions to certain upcoming plan amendment deadlines under certain provisions of the Setting Every Community Up for...more
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court”) issued its opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning the long-standing precedent of Roe v. Wade. In its 6-3 decision, the Court...more
Start-up and early stage companies commonly offer equity compensation to attract talent, encourage employee retention, and align company and employee interests on business objectives. There are several different types of equity...more
Estate planning strategies for founders are typically focused on saving both income taxes and estate taxes. Income tax savings can be achieved by creating and funding multiple trusts with company stock that duplicate any...more
On January 24, 2022, in a rare, unanimous 8-0 decision (Justice Barrett recused herself from the case), the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Supreme Court”) vacated a Seventh Circuit affirmation of the dismissal of...more
3/3/2022
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Class Action ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Excessive Fees ,
Fees ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Hughes v. Northwestern University ,
Plan Participants ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
SCOTUS
On December 15, 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring NYC employers to include minimum and maximum salary information in job postings for any positions located within New York City. The bill became law on...more
As 2021 comes to a close, we are taking a look back at some of the major developments in New York City and New York state employment law this past year, and a look ahead as to what’s to come in the New Year. We start our...more
After being put on hold by court orders, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) emergency temporary standard (“ETS”) mandating vaccination or weekly testing of employees of businesses with 100 or more...more
On December 6, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all private employers in New York City, which goes into effect on December 27, 2021. Yesterday, the City issued additional guidance related...more