BW INSIGHTS

Navigating Form 5500 Compliance: Common Pitfalls & How Legal Counsel Can Help

By Caleb J. Brus & Cynthia Boyle Lande | 08.05.2025

As summer rolls in, so does benefit plan audit season including Form 5500 filings. For many, this means calls from auditors and sometimes those calls come with unexpected news: “We found an issue.” If this happens, you’re not alone and it is more common than you might think. The good news? At BrownWinick, our employee benefits attorneys regularly... Read More

ADA Does Not Cover Retirement Benefit Cuts

By Danielle Smid | 06.30.2025

In a 7–2 decision issued June 21, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not cover former employees who are no longer able to work due to a disability. In Stanley v. City of Sanford, the Court ruled that Title I of the ADA applies only to individuals who can perform, or seek to perform, the essential... Read More

Texas Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s Overtime Rule Raising Salary Threshold for While Collar Exemptions

By Danielle Smid | 11.18.2024

According to a Texas Federal Judge on Friday, the United States Department of Labor lacked authority to raise the salary threshold for the Fair Labor Standards Act white collar overtime exemptions. The Court’s ruling strikes down on a nationwide basis the Biden Administration rule that has been in effect since July. The Court rules that each of... Read More

How A Trump Second Term Will Affect the National Labor Relations Board and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

By John R. Watson | 11.14.2024

With a change of administration employers can expect shifting policies. For a second Trump term, employers can likely expect similar policies as to the first Trump administration. A Republican president typically means that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will ease up on prosecuting employers for alleged labor violations and shift... Read More

ERISA FIDUCIARY DUTIES AND CYBERSECURITY

By Caleb J. Brus & Cynthia Boyle Lande | 09.26.2024

The intersection of fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) and cybersecurity has become increasingly prominent in our digital world. ERISA fiduciaries are responsible for managing retirement plans prudently and solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries. As cyber threats grow, ensuring the... Read More

IRS Issues Guidance on Matching Contributions for Student Loan Payments

By Maggie Simonson Schild & Cynthia Boyle Lande | 09.16.2024

Background On August 19, 2024, the IRS issued Notice 2024-63 (the “Notice”) to provide highly anticipated interim guidance on Section 110 of Secure 2.0 Act (“Secure 2.0”), which was enacted in 2022. Secure 2.0 amended the definition of matching contributions to allow an employer to make matching contributions beginning in 2024 to 401(k), 403(b),... Read More

Texas Court Ruling on FTC Rule

By Kathryn A. Leidahl | 08.21.2024

On August 20, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown for the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction barring the implementation of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) regulation banning noncompete agreements. In April 2023, the FTC issued a final rule banning most new and existing noncompetes nationwide. Judge Brown’s ruling means the FTC ban... Read More

DOL FIDUCIARY RULE STAYED INDEFINITELY

By Caleb J. Brus & Cynthia Boyle Lande | 07.29.2024

A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) “Retirement Security Rule” (the Fiduciary Rule) ahead of its September 23, 2024, effective date. BACKGROUND ON THE FIDUCIARY RULE The DOL has been on a fourteen-year quest to replace a fiduciary definition in place since 1975. The saga began in 2010, but fierce... Read More

Supreme Court Tightens Standards for NLRB Injunctive Relief

By Danielle Smid | 07.03.2024

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency tasked with safeguarding employees' rights and addressing unfair labor practices by employers. In the recent Supreme Court case Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney, 144 S. Ct. 1570 (2024), the Court's 8-1 decision imposed the stricter traditional four-factor test for granting... Read More

Recent Challenges to Plan Forfeitures

By Caleb J. Brus | 05.24.2024

Recent lawsuits are challenging 401(k) plan sponsors’ use of forfeitures to reduce employer contributions. Such practice is a long-standing precedent permitted by the Internal Revenue Service “IRS.” Plaintiffs in these suits claim that the decision on how to apply forfeitures is a fiduciary determination. The plaintiffs further allege it is a... Read More