At The Podium

When the Studebaker Corporation terminated its pension plan in 1963, more than 4,000 workers lost $15 million in unpaid benefits.  While the struggling automaker’s actions drew national attention and criticism, it would be 11 more years before the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 — the landmark federal legislation initially designed to protect pension plan participants — would be enacted.  Since then, the field of employee benefits law has expanded to include a myriad of laws and regulations governing both retirement plans and health plans.

In his presentation at McAfee & Taft’s 2018 Corporate Counsel Seminar in Tulsa, Oklahoma, employee benefits attorney Brandon Long walks audience members through the evolution of benefits law — from the 1960s to present day — and discusses the conditions and circumstances that gave rise to each new major piece of legislation. He also reviews current trends in employee benefits law and provides a sneak peek as to what employers might be able to expect in the way of new rules, regulations and developments in the coming year.