Following previous failed attempts to expand the fiduciary liability of financial services providers, the DOL released a new rule that broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The new rule is expected to face...more
5/3/2024
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compliance ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Duty of Care ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
Liability ,
New Regulations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
With bank uncertainty making headlines, we answer employers’ most frequently asked questions about the consequences of payroll delays, strategies for mitigating risk and more.
...more
3/17/2023
/ 401k ,
Banking Sector ,
COBRA ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Furloughs ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Medicare ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Penalties ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Voluntary Fiduciary Compliance Program (VFCP) ,
Voluntary Reduction in Force
Good news for defined-benefit pension plan sponsors.
Decision should discourage class action litigation involving defined-benefit plan investments....more
Employers have new opportunity to obtain IRS approval of individually designed plan documents.
Individually designed cash balance plans and other “statutory hybrid” pension plans can be submitted for IRS approval during...more
New state and local laws might change employment salary due diligence and post-closing arrangements in M&A deals New state and local laws might change employment salary due diligence and post-closing arrangements in M&A...more
10/17/2017
/ Acquisitions ,
Due Diligence ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Mergers ,
New Legislation ,
Post-Closing Rights ,
Salary/Wage History ,
Severance Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stock Purchase Agreement ,
WARN Act
A group of related private equity (“PE”) funds were found liable for a bankrupt portfolio company’s pension plan debts in the latest and most worrisome decision in the long-running Sun Capital Partners III, LP v. New England...more
4/20/2016
/ Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Controlled Groups ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Joint and Several Liability ,
Multiemployer Plan ,
Partnership-in-Fact ,
PBGC ,
Pensions ,
Portfolio Companies ,
Private Equity Funds ,
Sun Capital Partners ,
Withdrawal Liability
In IRS Notice 2015-86, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided guidance to sponsors and administrators of employee benefit plans regarding the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to...more
Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) limits, subject to certain exceptions, a public company’s federal income tax deduction for compensation paid to any “covered employee” to $1 million in any taxable year. A...more
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (the PBGC) has adopted final regulations relieving certain sponsors of defined benefit pension plans from the obligation to report certain events that signal an increase in the plan’s...more
Recovery provisions would apply on a no-fault basis to executive officers of virtually all exchange-listed companies who received incentive-based compensation during the three fiscal years preceding an accounting restatement...more
7/10/2015
/ Board of Directors ,
Clawbacks ,
Corporate Issuers ,
Corporate Officers ,
Cost Recovery ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Executive Compensation ,
Financial Statements ,
Incentive Compensation ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders
This is the second in a series of client advisories regarding the U.S. Department of Labor’s re-proposed regulations (Proposed Rule) defining who is a fiduciary under ERISA and the Code as a result of providing investment...more
On July 1, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations (“Final Regulations”) that permit employers and IRA providers to offer “qualified longevity annuity contracts” or “QLACs” under defined...more
In IRS Notice 2014-19 and accompanying FAQs, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued long-awaited guidance addressing the treatment of same-sex spouses under qualified retirement plans such as 401(k) and defined benefit...more
The U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued guidance treating a same-sex couple as “married” for all Federal tax purposes as long as the couple was legally married in a state...more
The First Circuit Court of Appeals recently became the first federal appellate court to hold that a private equity (“PE”) fund can be a “trade or business,” and thus potentially included in a “controlled group” with its...more
In This Edition:
- Year-end Deadline for Correcting Section 409A Deferred Compensation Arrangements That Condition Payment on an Employee Release or Covenant:
By December 31, 2012, all deferred compensation...more
In welcome news for private equity (“PE”) funds, a recent district court opinion determined that two PE funds and their bankrupt portfolio company were not a “controlled group” and thus the PE funds were not responsible for...more
By December 31, 2012, all deferred compensation arrangements in which payment is contingent on employee action, such as execution of a release of claims, must either include payment-timing restrictions that comport to IRS...more