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Melissa Ostrower is Principal in the New York City office of Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ms. Ostrower advises companies on all aspects of employee benefits law, including compliance with ERISA and the Code as well as administrative matters and fiduciary issues relating to benefit plans.  Ms. Ostrower has extensive experience in executive compensation matters and counsels both public and private companies on executive compensation issues, including Section 409A and 162(m) of the Code.

Ms. Ostrower is also a member of the Jackson Lewis healthcare reform task force and is intimately involved in helping Jackson Lewis clients ensure compliance with recently enacted healthcare reform legislation.

Ms. Ostrower is a graduate of Brandeis University (B.A., M.A.), George Washington University Law School (J.D.) where she was a member of The Law Review, and New York University (LL.M.).

The Federal Trade Commission published a proposed rule[1] Jan. 5 that would effectively prohibit noncompete clauses for employees and other workers in all but very limited circumstances.[2]

This article focuses on the impact the proposed rule could have on employee benefit and compensation arrangements, if it becomes effective in its current form.

Golden Parachute

As many expected based on the draft opinion that was leaked months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court has held the U.S. Constitution does not protect the right to obtain an abortion. Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, No. 19-1392 (June 24, 2022).

Dobbs overturns nearly 50 years of precedent from the Court’s decision in 

On May 2, 2022, a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health was leaked to the press, and as a result the Court is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, effectively leaving the issue of abortion rights to the states. Thirteen states currently

On March 29, 2022, the House of Representatives passed the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”, HR 2954).  The vote was largely supported by both parties (414-5).  The Senate will likely act on the bill later this spring.  While we expect several changes in the Senate version, it is widely

In much-anticipated guidance, the Internal Revenue Service has offered its insight on the implementation of the COBRA temporary premium subsidy provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) in Notice 2021-31.

Spanning more than 40 pages, the IRS-answered frequently asked questions (FAQs) finally resolve many issues relating to temporary premium assistance for

On May 11, 2021, the City Council of New York enacted a local law to establish a retirement savings program for certain employees of private entities.

What are the Details?

The new law creates a mandatory auto-enrollment payroll deduction individual retirement account (“IRA”) program for employees of private sector employers in New York City which

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 expands upon some popular tax credit provisions and makes other changes to a key tax provision regarding compensation deduction limitations. These changes are summarized below.   More

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Act) generally provides the annual funding for the federal government and contains several important rules giving further COVID-19 relief. These include, among other things, revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), expansion of the employee retention tax credit, and changes to other employer-related tax provisions.

The Act was passed by

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”), which disallows the deduction by any publicly held corporation with respect to certain compensation paid to a covered employee over $1,000,000, was amended by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”).  One change made to Section 162(m) of the Code as part of the TCJA was

The Internal Revenue Service has issued Notice 2020-65 to provide guidance on the employment tax deferral that is the subject of President Donald Trump’s August 8, 2020, Memorandum on Deferring Payroll Tax Obligations in Light of the Ongoing COVID-19 Disaster.

Pursuant to the Notice, the due date for the withholding and payment of the