Ted Becker
Subscribe to Ted Becker's PostsTed Becker focuses his practice on litigation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and related federal and state actions, and defense of government investigations and audits relating to employee benefit, health and welfare, and retirement plans brought by the US Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and the US Department of Justice. He is a leading voice and nationally recognized practitioner in this complex practice area. He has represented public and private companies that sponsor employee benefit, health and welfare, and retirement plans governed by ERISA, and their directors and officers and plan fiduciaries, as well as service providers to ERISA plans and plan sponsors. He has extensive experience in Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and has defended some of the highest profile lawsuits involving ESOPs, helping to define the landscape of the evolving law relating to ESOPs. Read Ted Becker's full bio.
The Silver Tsunami Is Coming – Here’s How ESOPs Can Help
By Ted Becker on Nov 15, 2022
Posted In Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Retirement Plans
How can employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) help business owners ensure their businesses remain locally owned? In this article published in The Gazette, McDermott Partner Ted Becker provides insight into this popular type of employee benefit plan. “The most important thing to do is to get an adviser who understands ESOPs,” Becker said. Access the...
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COVID and a Cloud of Dust
By Ted Becker on Nov 3, 2022
Posted In Employee Benefits, Health and Welfare Plans
The COVID-19 pandemic forced lawmakers to respond with an array of legislation to help Americans, such as the No Surprises Act, the Families First Coronavirus Responses Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. Now, however, pandemic-related litigation involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is becoming more common. In...
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Lessons from Recent ESOP Litigation
By Ted Becker on Jan 25, 2022
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans
What are some recent trends in employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) litigation? In these slides, McDermott’s Ted Becker and Allison Egan offer insight into what plan fiduciaries need to know. Access the slides.
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Investor Guidelines for Shared Value Creation in Employee Ownership Transitions Unveiled
By Ted Becker on Feb 27, 2020
Posted In Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues
One of the big questions for the employee ownership field is, why has the number of US employee-owned firms failed to grow significantly over the last couple of decades? An upcoming paper from Fifty by Fifty proposes that the barrier to growth is a lack of agency. Employees don’t have the knowledge, skills or capital...
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Ninth Circuit Decides Not to Rehear Its Decision Requiring Arbitration of ERISA Claims
By Richard J. Pearl and Ted Becker on Dec 19, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employment, Retirement Plans
As we wrote in a previous On the Subject, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals had signaled that it might rehear its August 2019 decisions in Dorman v. The Charles Schwab Corp., in which the Court compelled arbitration of ERISA class-action claims relating to a 401(k) plan. After ordering additional briefing, however, the Ninth Circuit denied the...
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Ninth Circuit Considers Rehearing in ERISA Arbitration Case
By Richard J. Pearl and Ted Becker on Nov 5, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans
The Ninth Circuit signaled that it might rehear Dorman v. The Charles Schwab Corp., where earlier this year it held that a mandatory arbitration provision required arbitration of an ERISA fiduciary-breach claim. Access the full article.
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Eye on ERISA: Q&A with McDermott’s Ted Becker
By Ted Becker on Oct 8, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
As presidential hopefuls bemoan the high cost of healthcare, McDermott’s Ted Becker imagines a stack of lawsuits pushed toward corporations and insurance companies. If workers can use the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to challenge 401(k) plans’ fees and investments, why can’t they use it to sue over how their health insurance plans are managed?...
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On Top of ESOP Developments: Insights from the 42nd ESOP National Conference
By Ted Becker on Aug 1, 2019
Posted In Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Retirement Plans
The 2019 ESOP National Conference, an annual gathering for employee owners from all levels, association volunteer leaders and expert professionals, took place May 22–24. Two McDermott partners, Theodore (Ted) M. Becker and Erin Turley, presented three sessions during the conference, the slides of which are available for download on the conference website. See descriptions of...
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ERISA Plan Controversy | Rising Stakes for Those Unprepared
By Chris C. Scheithauer and Ted Becker on Mar 21, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
In a presentation at McDermott’s Employment and Employee Benefits Forum, Ted Becker and Chris Scheithauer explored the various ways that disgruntled employees file lawsuits with plaintiffs’’ lawyers. Lawsuits have been brought in cases alleging, imprudence in the management of plans, challenging fees, involving company stock, actuarial equivalence and more. They used recent cases such as,...
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Fridays With Benefits Webinar | ERISA Litigation – Are You Bullet-Proofed for the Inevitable?
By Richard J. Pearl, Ted Becker and McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 9, 2019
Posted In Benefit Controversies, Employee Benefits, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), Fiduciary and Investment Issues, Health and Welfare Plans, Retirement Plans
What to expect in 2019 and how to prepare now. Join McDermott lawyers Judith Wethall, Ted Becker and Rick Pearl for an interactive discussion regarding ERISA litigation trends. Join our lively 45-minute discussion while we tackle the following items: Plaintiffs’ law firm’s solicitations Health & Welfare Fee Litigation Defined-Benefit Plan Litigation – Actuarial Equivalence lawsuits...
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