As reported in prior blogs, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), a leading proxy advisory firm, uses a proprietary “Equity Plan Scorecard” approach to evaluate public company equity compensation plans and will...more
As 2019 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/11/2019
/ 401k ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Year-End Planning ,
Year-End Tax Planning
As 2019 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we present our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 covers year-end health...more
10/18/2019
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Civil Rights Act ,
COBRA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
HDHP ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Individual Mandate ,
IRS ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
OFCCP ,
Retirement Plan ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Title VII ,
TPAs ,
Wage and Hour
On June 17th the Department of Labor finalized a set of proposed regulations requiring that all “top hat” plan statements be filed with the Department electronically though this website. As brief background, a “top hat”...more
The following is an update to an important Delaware case relating to the applicable standard of review for challenged actions involving the setting of director compensation. ...more
4/16/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Business Judgment Rule ,
Corporate Governance ,
Director Compensation ,
Entire Fairness Standard ,
Restricted Stocks ,
Settlement Offer ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Standard of Review ,
Stock Options
I’ve written a number of articles and blogs about some sticky issues that can surface in the context of setting pay for public company non-employee directors...
On March 6th the parties to the In re Investors Bancorp, Inc....more
As reported in Part 4 of our 2018 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List, Section 6039 of the Code requires employers to provide a written information statement to each employee or former employee and file information returns...more
SEC Adopts Final Rules for Disclosure of Hedging Policies. On December 18, 2018, the SEC approved final rules regarding the disclosure of a company’s hedging practices or policies, as mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act. This...more
12/26/2018
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Final Rules ,
GAAP ,
MD&A Statements ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Statements ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-K ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SASB ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Shareholder Proposals ,
Shareholders ,
Smaller Reporting Companies
As 2018 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
As 2018 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
As 2018 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/16/2018
/ 401k ,
457(b) Plans ,
Contribution Limits ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
IRS ,
PCORI ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan
On September 28, 2018, the IRS released Revenue Procedure 2018-52. The Revenue Procedure makes changes to the IRS Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), which is the IRS’ comprehensive correction program for...more
On August 21, 2018, the IRS released Notice 2018-68 (“Notice”) providing its initial guidance on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“Act”) transition rule for changes made to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as...more
9/13/2018
/ Contract Terms ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Covered Employees ,
Executive Compensation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
IRS ,
New Guidance ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Section 162(m) ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
I’ve stressed how important it is for public company executives and directors to stay apprised of developments in the director pay area, including developments/settlements of director pay lawsuits. Earlier this summer, the...more
We have previously encouraged our readers to focus on the size of their director pay packages and the processes their boards undertake in setting director compensation. Prior focus on these issues was recommended largely as a...more
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) has significant implications for public company executive compensation plans for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and will likely have a considerable impact on the future...more
Section 409A, the provision of the Internal Revenue Code that regulates the time and form of payment of nonqualified deferred compensation, contains a helpful exception for “short-term deferrals.” Specifically, Section 409A...more
On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“the Act”) was signed into law, and it has various implications for employers who sponsor employee benefit plans. This newsletter focuses on the provisions in the Act that...more
1/30/2018
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Fringe Benefits ,
Health and Welfare Plans ,
Individual Mandate ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
New Legislation ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Reimbursements ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
As reported in Part 3 of our 2016 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List, Section 6039 of the Code requires employers to provide a written information statement to each employee or former employee and file information returns...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered...more
11/21/2017
/ 401k ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Automatic Enrollment ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Determination Letter ,
Disability Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Filing Requirements ,
Form 5500 ,
Hardship Distributions ,
IRS ,
Natural Disasters ,
Proposed Rules ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Summary Plan Description
As 2017 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/17/2017
/ Deferred Compensation ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
Equity Compensation ,
Executive Compensation ,
FASB ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Information Statements ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
ISOs ,
Section 162(m) ,
Section 409A
As 2017 comes to an end, we are happy to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are publishing our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 covered year-end...more
11/6/2017
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
COLA ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Employee Benefits ,
ESOP ,
HDHP ,
HSA ,
IRS ,
Retirement Plan ,
Social Security Benefits
As we approach the end of 2017, we want to remind employers and employees to take action before year end if they desire to defer compensation that will be earned during 2018...more
As 2017 comes to an end, we are pleased to present our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in four separate Employee Benefits Updates. This Part 1 will cover...more
10/18/2017
/ 21st Century Cures Act ,
AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Breach Notification Rule ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) ,
COBRA ,
Code Sections 4980H ,
Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Disability Benefits ,
Electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) ,
Employee Assistance Programs ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Poverty Line ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Form 5500 ,
Form 720 ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Information Letters ,
IRS ,
MHPAEA ,
Minimum Essential Coverage ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
Open Enrollment ,
PCORI ,
Preventive Health Care ,
Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Plan (QSEHRAs) ,
Religious Exemption ,
SBC ,
Section 1557 ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Penalties ,
Telemedicine ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Wellness Programs
Of the 7% of Russell 3000 companies that received “against” vote recommendations from ISS on their say on pay proposals this 2017 proxy season, some of the cited reasons for the negative vote recommendations from ISS...more