Employee Benefits

We counsel individuals and employers alike regarding employee benefits, including qualified and non-qualified pensions, profit sharing and other benefit plans. We advise employers and individuals about the timing and accessing of these benefits and the financial and tax impacts of doing so. We also advise employers and individuals about all aspects of Unemployment, short-term and long-term disability leave, and the statutory job protected leaves that might be triggered and applicable during the initial period of a disability or workers’ compensation leave.

Given that many disability leave plans provide that disability insurance wage replacement payments are offset against any other “income” the individual may receive, we advise individuals receiving disability leave payments on the possible impact accessing one’s 401k,  IRA proceeds - or other sources of money - may have on their continued receipt of their full disability leave payment. We also assist individuals with disability leave appeals filed with third-party disability insurers and on the often complicated terms and definitions found in disability policies. Similarly, we advise employers on worker’s compensation leave questions, an employer’s timely documentation and processing of employee work-related injuries, and we defend employers in “Section 28” claims brought by employees at the Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents.