Proskauer Benefits Brief: Legal Insight on Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, Proskauer partners Ira Bogner and Adam Scoll and law clerk Tanusha Yarlagadda discuss the Department of Labor’s final ESG rules issued on November 22, 2022, and how those rules affect the consideration by ERISA fiduciaries of environmental, social, and governance or “ESG” factors when making investment decisions and exercising shareholder rights, such as voting proxies.  Although these final rules generally became effective on January 30, 2023, they are currently being challenged both in the courts and in Congress.

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, Myron D. Rumeld, partner and co-chair of Proskauer’s ERISA Litigation group and senior associate Tulio D. Chirinos, review the current state of affairs with respect to the litigation challenging the fees charged and investments offered in defined contribution plans; and The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Hughes v. Northwestern University where the court reversed and remanded the Seventh Circuit’s decision affirming dismissal of a 403(b) plan excessive fee litigation.

For a number of ERISA, tax and other regulatory reasons, it may be desirable for the manager or sponsor of an investment fund or other structure to utilize what is often referred to as a plan asset "hard-wired" conduit feeder.  Tune in to this podcast as partner Ira Bogner and senior counsel Adam Scoll discuss more about these structures, and the advantages they can provide.   

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, our final installment in the series exploring the basic COBRA rules, partner Paul Hamburger is joined by associate Katrina McCann and they discuss the penalties for noncompliance. Employers and plan administrators often ask what types of penalties they are exposed to if they get it wrong. What is the cost in correcting the COBRA error? We discuss these important issues so be sure to tune in.

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, our series on the COBRA basics rolls on. Partner Paul Hamburger is joined by associate Talya Scolnik and they discuss some of the key COBRA considerations for some of the nontraditional health plan related programs such as Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) and Health Wellness Programs, Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs).

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Paul Hamburger and associate Tyler Forni highlight some of the key COBRA rules to keep in mind in Mergers and Acquisition context. Most people understand that in any M&A interaction, COBRA rules need to be addressed, so be sure to tune in to the next episode in this COBRA series.

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, our series outlining the basic COBRA rules continues. Partner Paul Hamburger and associate Talya Scolnik highlight some of the key COBRA rules to keep in mind in understand how long COBRA coverage lasts. This can be a complicated and very technical issue, so be sure to tune in.

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Paul Hamburger joins Jennifer Rigterink to talk about some of the tricky points related to COBRA premium payment rules. In this installment of our series on COBRA rules, they highlight what plan administrators need to consider when facing COBRA premium payment issues.

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Paul Hamburger is joined once again by associate Gabrielle Fox as they discuss important rules and practical issues that arise in dealing with COBRA’s election rules. They will provide insight on important questions related to COBRA election rules such as when elections have to be made, who can make the elections, and what happens to coverage during the COBRA election period.

In this episode of The Proskauer Benefits Brief, partner Paul Hamburger talks with associate Gabrielle Fox about some of the important considerations in dealing with notice rules for COBRA purposes. In this edition of our COBRA series, we will explain how notices are a key to COBRA administration. They trigger rights for qualified beneficiaries and obligations for plans and plan administrators, so be sure to tune in.