Bond Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Webinar Session II: Administering Employee Benefits in Termination/Reduction in Hours Situations
September 21, 2008
The Labor, Employment and Employee Benefits Practice Group of Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC invites you to attend two timely webinars (these are stand-alone programs and can be attended independently or as a package):
Session I:
Layoffs from a Labor and Employment Law Perspective:
Avoiding the Legal Pitfalls When Conducting a Reduction in Force and Individual Separations from Employment
November 6, 2008
Session II:
Layoffs from an Employee Benefits Law Perspective:
Administering Employee Benefits in Termination and Reduction in Hours Situations
November 19, 2008
Who Should Attend
This program is recommended for General Counsel, Human Resources Professionals, Compensation & Benefit Professionals, CEO's, CFO's, and other management officials with responsibility for making and/or administering reduction in force decisions or designing separation programs.
Program Summary
From Wall Street to Main Street, from Starbucks to General Motors, economic conditions are forcing many employers to reduce their workforces or separate individuals from their payroll. Separation from employment also necessarily requires that eligibility for employee benefits be properly and timely addressed. While such separation activities can assist an employer during difficult times, they also create high risks of potential legal liability at the most inopportune of times.
These two timely webinars will explore the alternatives to a reduction in force (RIF) and the necessary elements to planning and executing an effective and successful RIF. The programs will offer practical advice, based on recent court decisions and interpretations of administrative agencies, for designing the procedure and criteria for a separation program, separation agreements and releases (group and individual), and the "how and when" for terminating various employee benefits. This area can be a trap for the unwary -- from compliance with new legislation, such as the recently enacted New York State WARN Act, to ensuring that "standard" separation agreements drafted during the last restructuring comply with the latest court, EEOC and IRS pronouncements, for example complying with IRC Section 409A, these programs will put you on solid footing so that cost cutting initiatives are not eroded by unforeseen legal costs.
You may register for one or both of these webinars -- they are stand alone programs that cover the RIF process, the first webinar with an employment law focus and the latter with employee benefits focus.
Session II Covered Topics
- Identifying termination and continuation provisions in employee benefit plans
- Negotiating coverage with insurance providers
- Addressing COBRA, HIPAA and conversion notice requirements
- Complying with the FMLA and USERRA
- Negotiating benefits in separation agreements
- Satisfying IRC Section 409A requirements
- Analyzing the differences in benefit administration between termination, layoffs and leaves of absence situations
- Complying with NYS Labor Law notice requirements
Session II Speaker
Darcie A. Falsioni, Esq.
Ms. Falsioni advises employers of all sizes, including public and privately held employers, for-profit and tax-exempt employers, on various aspects of employee benefits law, including the design, implementation, operation and termination of qualified and non-qualified pension and profit-sharing plans, 403(b) plans and welfare benefits plans, including health, dental, life and disability insurance plans, cafeteria plans, flexible spending account arrangements, health reimbursement arrangements, health savings accounts and split-dollar life insurance arrangements. Ms. Falsioni also counsels on the administration of, and compliance with, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), as well as assists clients on matters related to New York State workers compensation and disability benefits insurance assessments. Ms. Falsioni frequently presents on various employee benefit topics, and has authored several employee benefits law-related articles.
