Winston & Strawn's Benefits Blast Podcast

During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits attorneys David Rogers and Ruth Wimer talk about the Retention Credit details, guidelines, and opportunities for organizations.

During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits attorneys David Rogers and Ruth Wimer and Pro Bono Counsel Tara Moss discuss the Retention Credit details, guidelines, and opportunities for tax-exempt organizations.

During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits Attorney Steve Flores and Litigation Attorney Cardelle Spangler talk about legislation that states have enacted in order to combat workplace sexual harassment in light of the #MeToo Movement.

During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits Attorneys Joe Adams and Anne Becker talk about how smart employers are helping their employees address the challenges of student loan debt.

During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits Attorneys Susan Nash and Jessica Diedrich talk about adoption and surrogacy benefits and how these innovative programs are being offered by employers.

The Dodd-Frank Act amended the SEC to require public company proxies to disclose any company policies regarding the hedging of company shares by the company’s employees and directors. Last December, the SEC finalized rules implementing that new requirement, meaning that most public companies will be required to follow the new disclosure rules in their next proxy filing. During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Executive Compensation Partners Mike Melbinger and Joe Adams discuss how the new hedging rules differ from the existing rules, what share holdings are covered by the new rules, which individuals should be covered by a company’s hedging policy, and what smart companies should do now to ease compliance with the new requirements.

What is an in-plan Roth 401(k) conversion and why is it relevant today? During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Attorneys Nancy Gerrie and James Isaac discuss Roth conversions inside a 401(k) plan and provide key takeaways for employers who are considering adopting this feature in their 401(k) plan.

Why should employers be thinking about litigation when working with executive compensation plans? In this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partners Mike Melbinger and Steve Flores talk about drafting improvements for executive employment and compensation agreements that are intended to help reduce employers’ risk of getting sued.

Since 2015, the IRS, DOL, and PBGC have been paying close attention to how employers locate missing participants, including increased scrutiny of timely payment of required minimum distributions (RMDs) for participants at or near age 70-1/2. In particular, the DOL has undertaken numerous investigations on missing participants as part of its Terminated Vested Participant Project (TVPP). During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Attorneys David Rogers and David Diaz will discuss this ongoing initiative and how the DOL is challenging employers specifically. They will discuss the DOL investigation process and provide best practices regarding missing participants that employers should take into consideration.

How do privacy and security laws affect employers? What do employers need to do to protect themselves? During this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partner Steve Flores interviews Privacy & Data Security Of Counsel Alessandra Swanson on these important questions and many more. They will discuss federal and state privacy laws, collection of biometric information, recent litigation trends, HIPAA compliance, the rise in phishing threats, and what employers need to be on the lookout for in terms of data security.

What is telemedicine and how is it being offered as an employee benefit by employers? In this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partners Susan Nash and Jamie Weyeneth discuss the growth of telemedicine services and how this service is affecting health care delivery to employees. They will also discuss the benefits of telemedicine services, the legal drawbacks of utilization, privacy concerns, and will provide key takeaways for employers who are considering offering telemedicine services.

What are fringe benefits? In this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partners Joanna Kerpen and Ruth Wimer discuss fringe benefits offered by employers, along with the related tax considerations and pitfalls. Joanna and Ruth provide tips and best practices for employers offering fringe benefits and reveal some of the most popular and trendy fringe benefits seen in the marketplace today.

What is the definition of compensation and a retirement plan used for and why does it matter? In this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partners Steve Flores and Nancy Gerrie discuss the different definitions of compensation used in retirement plans, including safe harbor and non-safe harbor and the complications that can arise if plan administrators use the wrong one.

Do you know your ABC’s? The different acronyms associated with the various types of health plan accounts can be confusing. In this episode of Winston & Strawn’s Benefits Blast Podcast, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Partners Susan Nash and Amy Gordon provide an overview of the alphabet soup of health accounts. Learn the differences between a health savings account (HSA), health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) (including two new types of health accounts introduced under newly proposed regulations), a health flexible spending account (FSA), and what you need to know about each.

Winston & Strawn is pleased to announce the launch of the Benefits Blast Podcast. During each episode, our attorneys will provide a brief update on innovations, trends, and developments in executive compensation and employee benefits law. Whether you’re a human resource professional, fiduciary, administrator, or on a board of directors, learn everything you need to know about health savings accounts, retirement plans, fringe benefits, telemedicine, and more. Our episodes will be brief, digestible, and published biweekly.