Hinkle Law Firm LLC takes a creative and innovative approach to meeting the objectives of our employee benefit clients.
Our employee benefits team is one of the largest in the region. We represent several hundred employers locally, regionally and nationally. Our clients include publicly traded companies, privately held businesses, professional practices, non-profit organizations and governmental entities. Because the attorneys in our practice group work almost exclusively in employee benefits, we bring substantial knowledge and technical skill to each client scenario.
We can help clients design, establish and operate the following plans:
- Qualified plans, including defined benefit plans, defined contribution plans (such as 401(k) plans) and ESOPs
- 403(b), 457(b) and 457(f) plans
- Nonqualified deferred compensation plans (including phantom stock plans)
- Employee welfare benefit plans (ERISA plans)
- Section 125 cafeteria plans
We have experience with the more complicated benefit structures that are often found in larger companies. Some of our clients may, for example, have different benefit structures for different divisions, different categories of workers (such as salaried or hourly) or different work sites. We also have extensive experience with small and medium-size companies that desire to take maximum advantage of the tax benefits available for owners and management through properly designed employee benefit plans – such as “safe harbor” 401(k) plans and/or “cross-tested” profit-sharing plans.
We represent clients before the IRS and Department of Labor with respect to employer and plan audits. We also advise and assist clients with plan corrections using official IRS and Department of Labor correction programs.
We can help our clients navigate their way through the complex laws and regulations that affect employee benefits, including laws such as ERISA, COBRA and HIPAA. We also have extensive experience assisting clients, employee benefit advisors, and service providers with health care reform and the complex rules under the Affordable Care Act. We stay on top of these complicated and constantly changing laws by attending advanced conferences, participating in professional peer groups and subscribing to pertinent national publications that focus on employee benefits law.
We provide Alerts and other important, updated information to our employee benefit clients on an ongoing basis. In addition, our attorneys contribute to national employee benefit publications and regularly speak to professional, employer and human resource groups on employee benefit topics.
Although the field of employee benefits is highly technical in nature, we make every effort to communicate with our clients in plain English so they can understand what they need to do to stay in compliance with the law. We are committed to providing the best possible representation for our clients and to providing the information they need to maintain a quality employee benefits program that complies with applicable statutes and regulations.
For more detailed information on some of the areas of our employee benefit practice, please see the following:
- Qualified Retirement Plans
- Welfare Benefit Plans (08-21)
- Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
- HIPAA Medical Privacy and Security Compliance
The following are employee benefit resources we have prepared:
- Mandates Triggering Excise Tax Chart
- Employer Provided Welfare Benefit Plan Required Notices (9-18-24)
- Why an Employer Needs a Wrap Document
- Year-End Welfare Benefit Plans Checklist (12-03-19)