Employee Benefits
With over two decades of experience, Michael Tomberg spearheads our Employee Benefits practice, assisting clients with the administration of employee benefit plans and compliance requirements under federal tax laws, ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act), and state laws.
Atwood & McCall represents clients with regard to distributions, filings, qualified domestic relations orders (“QDROs”), COBRA, HIPAA, PPACA (ObamaCare), and fiduciary duties in plan administration, reorganization, and termination. This includes the termination of qualified retirement plans and liquidation of qualified plan trusts in relation to the bankruptcy of the plan sponsor.
The firm’s scope of employee benefits law includes:
- Negotiating and structuring of employee benefit aspects with respect to business reorganizations, acquisitions, mergers, spinoffs, and divestitures. This includes analyzing and conducting due diligence in order to minimize the potential risk of employee benefit liabilities and maximize the income tax benefits to the client, as well as assisting the client in the employee benefits transition related to such transactions
- Litigating all aspects of ERISA litigation claims; asserting and defending the client’s rights by utilizing our comprehensive employee benefits law background
- Representation and negotiation with respect to IRS audits and Department of Labor investigations, regarding qualified plans and other benefit plans, including: IRS audits with reference to Internal Revenue Code Section 4980H, employer shared responsibility payments, and other excise taxes and penalties with respect to PPACA
- Structuring and drafting executive compensation arrangements to meet specific client needs (such as phantom stock, stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and omnibus stock plans) by utilizing extensive experience in the complex area of deferred compensation and Internal Revenue Code Section 409A
- Designing, drafting, and implementing qualified and non-qualified employee retirement plans as well as welfare benefit plans, such as employee stock ownership plans (“ESOPs”), 401(k) plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, cafeteria plans, and other employee benefit arrangements and associated trust agreements
- Preparing and filing applications for determination letters with the IRS to maintain the qualified status of the plan, including voluntary correction program filings to correct plan failures, satisfaction of the IRS self-correction program to correct plan failures (which does not involve a filing with the IRS), and all other required and voluntary filings with governmental entities to maintain legal compliance with the benefit plan and/or the fiduciaries of the plan
- Implementing compliance strategies with the requirements of PPACA
- Negotiating employee benefits aspects and drafting the corresponding provisions of credit agreements
- Negotiating administrative service agreements with respect to various forms of benefit plan arrangements