Online Course Descriptions

Employee Benefits

Introduction to Legal Analysis (EB 303)
This course introduces non-lawyers to the workings of the legal system, legal methods (including research techniques), and the process of legal education. Must be taken concurrently with the Substantive Law Overview course.

Substantive Law Overview (EB 304)
This course introduces non-lawyers to the basic substantive areas of law. Policy issues as well as legal issue-spotting will be emphasized. Must be taken concurrently with the Introduction to Legal Analysis course.

Tax/Employee Benefits Research (EB 333)
This course acquaints students with the large amount of research materials available in the tax and employee benefits areas and develops their skills in researching issues through the effective use of these materials. Primary and secondary sources will be examined in depth. Emphasis will be placed on researching judicial decisions, legislative histories, and administrative rulings. The course will also develop skills in using computerized research tools. No final examination will be given. Student evaluations will be based on various research assignments.

Cash or Deferred Arrangments (EB 354)
Prerequisites: Fundamentals I of Retirement Plan Issues and Fundamentals II of Retirement Plan Issues
This course examines the design and administration of cash and deferred plans (also known as 401(k) plans), SIMPLE/IRA plans, SIMPLE/401(k) plans, SEPs, 403(b) plans and 457 plans. In determining whether to implement a cash and deferred arrangement, all of the various arrangements will be discussed. Once in place, the ongoing administration of such plans, including annual testing, use of plan loans, investment of plan assets, fiduciary issues, QDRO procedures and reporting and disclosure requirements will be highlighted. Unique uses of cash and deferred arrangements with ESOPs and in executive compensation contexts will also be analyzed.

Employee Benefits Litigation (EB 358)
This advanced course examines the litigation aspects of controversies and claims involving pension and retirement plans, health and medical plans, and other employee fringe benefits. The course covers all aspects of claims, defenses, pleadings, discovery, motions, trial and settlement approaches used in employee benefits litigation and dispute resolution. It is designed for attorneys handling litigation involving employee benefit plans but it does not presumes a working knowledge of ERISA and the qualification requirements for various employee benefits plans under the Internal Revenue Code.

Employee Benefits Law (EB 360)
This course will survey the labor, employment, and tax rules affecting employee pension and profit sharing plans. By providing an overview of the framework of rules governing such plans, students will learn the basic tax, legal, business, and other issues that specifically affect retirement plans and participants’ rights under such plans. The course will also discuss other types of employee benefit plans, such as health and welfare plans and executive compensation plans.

Fundamentals I of Retirement Plan Issues (EB 361)
Prerequisite: Employee Benefits Law
This course and Fundamentals II (EB 362) provide an in-depth examination of the rules governing retirement plans “qualified” under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Intended for the practitioner who wishes to specialize in this area, the course covers the design, qualification, funding and the administration of employee retirement plans, with emphasis on compliance with the requirements of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.

Fundamentals II of Retirement Plan Issues (EB 362)
Prerequisite: Employee Benefits Law
This course and Fundamentals II (EB 361) provide an in-depth examination of the rules governing retirement plans “qualified” under Section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code. Intended for the practitioner who wishes to specialize in this area, the course covers the design, qualification, funding and the administration of employee retirement plans, with emphasis on compliance with the requirements of ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code.

Survey of Welfare Plan Issues (EB 363)
This basic survey course is intended to provide fundamental familiarity with welfare benefit plans. The course provides an overview of employee compensation with life insurance and death benefit coverage, cafeteria plans, funded welfare plans, employee fringe benefits, employer-provided education benefits, and dependent care plans. It also covers employer-provided health insurance and other accident and health plans, with particular focus on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Topics such as flexible spending accounts and health savings accounts, which provide tax-shelters for such welfare benefits, will also be discussed.

Survey of Executive Compensation Plans (EB 365)
This survey course is intended to provide an overview of the framework of rules governing nonqualified executive compensation, with primary focus on the tax, legal, financial and accounting issues that specifically impact such arrangements. Funding vehicles such as “rabbi” and secular trusts are discussed. Advanced coverage of executive compensation plans will be addressed in EB 369 (Executive Compensation Benefits: Advanced).

Contemporary Benefit Issues (EB 367)
Prerequisite: Fundamentals I of Retirement Plan Issues
This course is intended for the practitioner who is well-versed in employee benefits law and wishes to keep abreast of timely issues that affect employee benefit plans. Current topics may include IRS/DOL compliance and audit programs, estate tax planning distributions, fiduciary litigation, and the impact of other federal laws on employee benefit plans (e.g., HIPAA, COBRA, and FMLA).

Employee Benefits Public Policy (EB 378)
Prerequisite: Fundamentals I of Retirement Plan Issues
This course introduces students to policy analysis used to develop legislation and regulations in the field of employee benefits and the courts’ implementation of such rules. Uncertainty is inevitable in the law itself, conflict between laws and provisions within the same law. To resolve such uncertainty, the public policy behind the law becomes important in a variety of contexts: in litigation (as to the meaning of a given provision); in legislation (as to changing or clarifying existing litigation); in regulations (interpreting the legislative provision); in negotiating with an agency (in the context of a settlement); or in a tax matter (defending a plan’s qualification status). While the course is about theory, its application is totally practical to the practice of employee benefits law. This is a paper course in which students will prepare a public policy paper on an existing issue in retirement or health policy to be presented to the class at large.

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