Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

At Briggs and Morgan, members of our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice Group actively are engaged in providing legal services to our privately-held clients, as well as fiduciary counseling to our public company clients. This specifically includes the management of company stock held in Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and other retirement plans.

Our practice includes advising companies about benefit issues in mergers and acquisitions, including acquisition benefits planning, divestitures, parachute arrangements, equity compensation, change in control agreements and the design of post-merger incentive compensation plans.

We are skilled in the planning, design and implementation of retirement plans, equity-based compensation plans, severance plans and health plans. We are actively involved in the design and negotiation of compensation plans for executives of public companies, including compliance with Sections 409A and 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure requirements.

Our experience includes:

  • Structuring employee stock ownership plans to promote company ownership by employees;
  • Advising on proxy disclosure rules for executive compensation plans and other related securities issues;
  • Representing fiduciaries and employers in benefits-related litigation;
  • Redesigning retirement plans to meet the requirements of the ever-changing laws governing these benefits;
  • Implementing equity-based and deferred compensation plans;
  • Responding to administrative and regulatory inquiries, including QDRO reviews and assisting clients with IRS and DOL voluntary correction programs;
  • Designing welfare plans, including HSAs, HRAs, FSAs and Wellness Programs, and compliance with the cafeteria plan regulations;
  • Complying with HITECH, HIPAA Privacy, Security, Creditable Coverage and Nondiscrimination Rules;
  • Counseling employers regarding withdrawal liability from multiemployer pension plans, and 
  • Complying with the requirements of COBRA and USERRA.