Employers strive to offer attractive employee benefits in addition to attractive salaries and wages.  Varnum's employee benefits attorneys are ready to help. We help clients design, draft, implement, and administer a wide variety of employee benefit and executive compensation plans. We help them comply with complicated laws that affect their plans. We help them correct mistakes and other problems with their plans under voluntary compliance programs. We represent clients in audits and other proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. We also represent them in mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and liquidations involving employee benefits plans.

Our expertise covers all areas of employee benefits, including:

• Pension plans, including Social Security alternative plans for governmental employers
• Profit sharing plans, including cross tested and age weighted plans
• Retirement savings or 401(k) plans
• ERISA compliance
• ERISA litigation
• Employee stock ownership plans
• Tax sheltered annuity or 403(b) plans
• Health care plans, including high deductible health plans, health savings accounts, and health reimbursement arrangements, and compliance with Health Care Reform, COBRA, and HIPAA
• Wellness programs
• Cafeteria and flexible benefits plans
• Non-qualified deferred compensation and other executive compensation plans

Who are our clients? Public- and private-sector employers, third-party administrators, and trustees of single- and multi-employer pension and health care plans, among others. We also counsel individuals who are planning for retirement and pursuing their rights under employee benefit plans. 

Employee Benefits Litigation

Varnum represents employers and multi-employer plans in ERISA litigation matters. We have litigated a broad range of issues, from individual claim matters to class action retiree health care disputes. Varnum also provides in-house training for purposes of enhancing understanding of the claim appeal and litigation process.

A representative sampling of litigation handled by Varnum includes the following:

• Varnum represents a national cereal and convenience food manufacturer and its Employee Benefit Plans as national litigation counsel for ERISA claims.  We handle all facets of pension claims, disability claims and health care claims.  Representation has included shaping the law on discovery issues in various federal circuits relating to pension claims.  This representation is defining the scope of judicial review of administrative decisions.
• Varnum represented a major automotive company and its Employee Benefit Plans as national litigation counsel.  We handled pension claims, disability claims and health care claims throughout the United States.
• Varnum represented a depository bank in a breach of fiduciary duty claim initiated by the Department of Labor.  The District Court dismissed the claim against the bank as a matter of law. Varnum helped define the standard for fiduciary liability for depository banks.
• Varnum represented multi-employer benefit plans relating to contributions and withdrawal liability issues.  Varnum is helping to develop withdrawal liability law issues relating to trust fund theories for contributions withheld from paychecks, but not paid to the multi-employer plans.
• Varnum represented a regional grocery chain in a class action claim dealing with a disability pension issue.  Class action was dismissed, and judgment was entered against Plaintiff for benefit claim.
• Varnum represented a Fortune 500 company and its Employee Benefit Plan in an Employee Health Care Class Action litigation matter. Jury verdict resulted in significant savings to Company and Plan.