On July 4, 2025, H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill (the “OBBB”) was signed into law. Compared to recent legislation, the OBBB does not contain a significant number of employee benefits provisions. However,...more
7/24/2025
/ Affordable Care Act ,
CARES Act ,
Dependent Care ,
Employee Benefits ,
Executive Compensation ,
Fringe Benefits ,
HDHP ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
HSA ,
One Big Beautiful Bill Act ,
Over-Time ,
Reimbursements ,
Student Loans ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tipped Employees
As if QSBS wasn’t good enough already, the “Big Beautiful Bill” signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025 enacts significant, founder-friendly changes to Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, which substantially...more
7/8/2025
/ Capital Gains ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
New Legislation ,
Qualified Small Business Stock ,
Small Business ,
Tax Benefits ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Planning ,
Tax Reform ,
Taxation ,
Trump Administration
On June 5, 2025, in a unanimous ruling authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the U.S. Supreme Court revived the employment discrimination claims of an Ohio woman who contends that she was the victim of “reverse...more
6/13/2025
/ Ames v Ohio Department of Youth Services ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
Judicial Authority ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
The new administration has recently taken steps to revise guidance with respect to two retirement plan investment options: cryptocurrency, and funds focusing on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors. These two...more
6/10/2025
/ Cryptocurrency ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan ,
Rulemaking Process
In startups and early-stage companies, founders often receive restricted equity grants as compensation for their services. With some planning, founders can potentially lower the taxes they pay on the appreciation of the...more
On April 3, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-02 (the “Bulletin”), clarifying the annual funding notice requirements applicable to defined benefit pension plans under section...more
Background - Many defined contribution plans are designed to permit participants to take advantage of an increased employee contribution limit starting the year they turn 50....more
2/13/2025
/ 401k ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
IRS ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Retirement Plan ,
Roth IRA ,
SECURE Act ,
Tax Planning ,
U.S. Treasury
You've spent years developing the idea, all-nighters and weekends building the business. You've courted investors and customers. You could never leave your company. Or could you?...more
1/31/2025
/ Board of Directors ,
Business Entities ,
Contract Terms ,
Corporate Governance ,
Employment Contract ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Equity ,
Executive Compensation ,
Investors ,
Shareholders ,
Transitional Arrangements
In September 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released Compliance Assistance Release No. 2024-01 and its updated cybersecurity guidance for employers that sponsor employee benefit plans governed by the Employee...more
We encounter many founders who have based their enterprises in the U.S., but who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents, or who may have other significant cross-border ties such as close family living outside the U.S....more
9/24/2024
/ Business Development ,
Cross-Border ,
Early Stage Companies ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Estate Tax ,
Gift Tax ,
Immigrants ,
Income Taxes ,
Investment ,
Stocks ,
Tax Planning ,
Venture Capital
Until recently, employer matching contributions under qualified plans were required to be conditioned solely upon employee contributions made to the plan. However, one of the many changes enacted by the Consolidated...more
Do you have an employment agreement? Should you have an employment agreement? We are often asked whether founders need written employment agreements with their companies. Every company's culture is different. Often founders...more
6/7/2024
/ At-Will Employment ,
Contract Negotiations ,
Employees ,
Employment Contract ,
Entrepreneurs ,
Investors ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Non-Solicitation Agreements ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Vesting
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a final rule (“Final Rule”) broadly banning non-competition (“non-compete”) agreements nationwide. With limited exceptions, the Final Rule prohibits employers...more
5/31/2024
/ Competition ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Contract ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice Requirements ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Unfair Competition
Five years ago, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (the “SECURE Act”) made several significant changes to certain distributions required pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) Section...more
Pension-Linked Emergency Savings Accounts (“PLESAs”) are a special retirement plan feature created under SECURE ACT 2.0. PLESAs were first permitted to be made available to participants as of January 1, 2024. PLESAs, which...more
4/8/2024
/ 401k ,
403(b) Plans ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Contributions ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Pensions ,
Retirement Plan ,
SECURE Act
Many founders are familiar with tax-exempt charitable organizations. These nonprofit entities—which are commonly known by reference to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code—are operated exclusively for a broad range...more
On November 17, 2023, New York State Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 4516, amending General Obligation Law Section 5-336 (GOL 5-336). As set forth in our earlier alert from when the law was first enacted,...more
Most founders are familiar with Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, which provides a tax exemption for the sale of Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS). Less well known is Section 1202's cousin, Section 1045, which...more
The menu of tax planning options for founders includes many strategies designed to minimize income taxes upon liquidity events and to provide for wealth preservation across multiple generations. To achieve those benefits,...more
In November 2021, the New York City Council passed a bill requiring that artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools used by employers to make or assist in hiring decisions or internal promotions undergo bias audits to screen for...more
Today marks the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency that first began on March 13, 2020. The end of the public health emergency has a wide range of implications for employer sponsored benefit plans. This alert...more
The ability to receive an income tax deduction for donations of private company stock can be a useful tax planning tool for founders. Assuming the stock has been held for more than one year, a founder can generally deduct the...more
On November 22, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released new regulations (the “New Regulations”) further clarifying the rules governing how retirement plan fiduciaries should approach plan investments under the...more
On September 26, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2022-45, extending the deadline to amend eligible retirement plans (including nongovernmental qualified plans and 403(b) plans and individual retirement...more
On March 3, 2022, President Biden signed into law the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Harassment Act of 2021” (the “Act”). The Act amends the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) to give individuals asserting...more