“Top hat” plans are plans employers maintain for a “select group of management or highly compensated employees.” These plans are exempt from many of ERISA’s protections, including eligibility, vesting, fiduciary responsibility and funding. Thus, they are often used to provide benefits to management employees over and above those provided under the company’s broad-based retirement plans.

Choosing which employees may participate in a “top hat” plan is an important decision, as selecting employees who are ineligible for this type of arrangement may lead to violations of ERISA, penalties, increased taxes, and other liabilities. For years companies, courts, and even the Department of Labor (DOL) have struggled with defining the group of employees who can participate in a “top hat” plan. Two recent federal court cases provide insight into the current state of the law and the factors courts consider when assessing “top hat” status.

In Bond v. Marriott International, Inc., Nos. 15-1160, 15-1199 (4th Cir. 2016) (Unpublished Opinion), the Fourth Circuit held that the plaintiff’s claims were time barred, thus avoiding a decision on whether Marriott’s deferred stock bonus awards program was a “top hat” plan. The Maryland district court, however, had determined that the plan was indeed a “top hat” plan (Bond v. Marriott Int’l, Inc., 296 F.R.D. 403 (D. Md. 2014). Former employees of Marriott asserted that a retirement awards program was not a “top hat” plan and thus subject to the ERISA vesting requirements. The plan used a prorated vesting formula based on each participant’s service until he or she reached age 65. The plaintiffs in the case, who did not fully vest in their benefits as they terminated employment before reaching age 65, argued that this reduction in benefits violated ERISA. The district court accepted Marriott’s reliance on the plan prospectus which stated the plan was “exempt from the participation and vesting, funding and fiduciary responsibility provisions” of ERISA, and Marriott’s granting of retirement awards to less than 2 percent of their total workforce each year.

The plan sponsor also prevailed in another recent case, Sikora v. UPMC (12/22/15 W.D. PA), in which the court was called upon to review the criteria for “top hat” status. In Sikora, the district court made clear to be considered a “top hat”, a plan must plainly “cover relatively few employees…and…cover only high level employees.” A former vice president at UPMC sought benefits from his former employer’s non-qualified supplemental benefit plan. Upon his voluntary termination, the plaintiff sought a lump sum payout, but instead received a written decision from the plan administrator informing him that he forfeited his fully vested account balance. Plaintiff filed suit alleging various causes of action while the defendant’s contention was that the plan was a “top hat” plan and exempt from ERISA’s vesting and non-forfeiture provisions. The court granted summary judgment for UPMC based on a plan participation rate of 0.2% and the titles and high compensation of the eligible participants.

Courts have received a variety of arguments discussing factors to be considered for when a plan should meet the “top hat” definition. For instance, in an amicus brief filed in Bond, the DOL asserted the Court should rely on its “bargaining power” interpretation. In 1990, the DOL released an Opinion Letter on this subject which set forth the last official statement of its view, which is that only those employees who “by reason of their position or compensation level, have the ability to affect or substantially influence, through negotiation or otherwise, the design and operation of their deferred compensation plan” are eligible to participate in a “top hat” plan. Remember, an Opinion Letter is not legal precedence, but merely expresses the DOL’s view of how the law should be interpreted.

Bond does not accept the DOL’s views nor expressly reject them. Instead, for a more thorough examination of the factors courts should entertain (and a vigorous repudiation of the DOL’s “bargaining power” view), look no further than the decision in Sikora. There, the court relied on both quantitative and qualitative factors. First, in determining what is a “select group” hinges primarily on the percentage of the workforce participating in the plan. The court noted that several courts have found plans with less than 15% participation to be “select.” Next, the court determined whether the “select group” consists exclusively of high-level employees by considering the following factors: (1) purpose of the setting up the plan, (2) plan eligibility criteria, (3) job titles of participants, (4) average compensation of participants, and (5) whether participants are eligible to participate in other key management or incentive plans.

More than 40 years after ERISA was enacted there is still no bright-line standard for determining “top hat” status. The area remains ripe for litigation as these recent cases demonstrate and a fertile field for employee counsel. Accordingly, we recommend regular review of top-hat plans to ensure they meet regulatory requirements and these outlined factors.

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