On February 9, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit refused to enforce an arbitration clause contained in an employee stock ownership plan (“ESOP”) document. In a 41-page opinion, the Court held that the ESOP Plan improperly limited the ESOP beneficiaries’ rights and remedies granted under the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act […]
As reported in Part 4 of our 2022 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” List, Section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) requires employers to provide a written information statement to each employee or former employee and file information returns with the IRS regarding: (1) the transfer of stock pursuant to the […]
Given recent declines in equity value in a variety of segments of the economy (technology in particular), a number of clients have asked us what levers are available for retaining talent. While they are rare and while we might be too early in the economic cycle for them, stock option repricings remain a possible tool […]
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 provides that a payment will not be considered nonqualified deferred compensation if the employer makes the payment on or prior to the 15th day […]
In June the Internal Revenue Service released an updated Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Audit Technique Guide. This updated Guide replaces the initial Guide published in 2015. While it is too early to say whether the release of the updated guidance signals increased audit activity by the Service in the nonqualified plan space, plan sponsors of nonqualified […]
On May 13, 2021, Phoenix executive compensation and employee benefits partner, Greg Gautam, joined Snell & Wilmer’s “CalCurrent” podcast. On his episode, Greg covered five common pitfalls private companies and startup companies should watch out for when structuring their equity compensation and incentive programs. You can listen to Greg’s full CalCurrent episode here if you […]
This year is off to a fast start and plan sponsors might find their heads spinning as they try to keep track of rapidly developing employee benefits legislation and guidance. We periodically consolidate key newsletters and blog posts to help our readers stay organized and catch up on items they might have missed. Below, please […]
As we previously reported, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) provided for an employee retention credit (“ERC”) designed to encourage employers to retain workers during the COVID-19 crisis. In general, the ERC permits eligible employers to claim a refundable tax credit of a portion of qualified wages paid to employees […]
Each year, we publish health and welfare, cost-of-living, executive compensation, and qualified retirement plan checklists to help individuals and employers stay apprised of updates to the law of employee benefits. We recently published the last of these annual checklists. In case you missed them, the links are below. Happy holidays! 2020 End of Year Plan […]
As a general matter, deferral elections under non-qualified deferred compensation plans (“NQDCs”) cannot be cancelled unless a NQDC plan participant incurs an “unforeseeable emergency” or “disability” as each such term is defined in Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code. Internal Revenue Service Notice 2020-50 (the “Notice”) adds a third reason to permit the cancellation […]
