Employment Litigation and Claim Settlements: Maximizing Tax Benefits and Avoiding Penalties
Tax Considerations for Employers When Negotiating Settlement Agreements; Drafting Strategies
A live 90-minute CLE video webinar with interactive Q&A
This CLE course will provide employment counsel and tax advisers guidance for structuring complex settlements and complying with complex tax reporting and withholding requirements applicable to employment claims. The panel will discuss best practices for employers to structure settlements, maximize tax benefits, and avoid penalties when allocating settlement proceeds. The panel will also discuss the reporting of payments and the tax implications of plaintiff requests in settlement agreements.
Outline
- Settlement payments that must be reported
- Tax deductible settlement payments
- Settlement agreement structuring options
- Settlement agreement drafting strategies
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What types of options exist for structuring an employment settlement?
- What settlement payments are taxable as wage income to the recipient in an employment dispute?
- What types of settlement payments and related attorneys' fees are tax deductible by the employer?
- What tax reporting obligations do employers have following a settlement?
- What are best practices for anticipating and addressing tax issues when negotiating employment dispute settlement agreements?
Faculty
Sandra W. Cohen
Partner
Cohen & Buckmann
Ms. Cohen works with leaders across the professional spectrum, helping them navigate significant events in their career... | Read More
Ms. Cohen works with leaders across the professional spectrum, helping them navigate significant events in their career trajectory. Her breadth of knowledge and ability to consistently resolve matters successfully have made her one of the leading executive compensation and employee benefits attorneys in North America. Clients and attorneys seek Ms. Cohen’s practical advice and business-oriented approach to complex tax and employee benefits issues. She is known for deal-making and pragmatic problem-solving on private equity transactions, mergers and acquisitions, employment contract negotiations and development of incentive and deferred compensation strategies. Ms. Cohen is an Adjunct Professor of Law at New York University Law School, teaching Taxation of Employee Benefits in NYU's graduate tax program. In addition, she is a highly sought-after speaker and author.
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Julian A. Fortuna
Partner
Greenspoon Marder
Mr. Fortuna is a partner in Greenspoon Marder’s Corporate & Business practice group. With over 30 years of... | Read More
Mr. Fortuna is a partner in Greenspoon Marder’s Corporate & Business practice group. With over 30 years of legal experience, he concentrates his practice on domestic and international tax, business and estate planning, employee benefits, and executive compensation matters. Mr. Fortuna has substantial experience representing clients in the entertainment, higher education, clean energy, health care, hospitality, non-profit, manufacturing, retail, and real estate industries.
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Robert W. (Rob) Wood
Managing Partner
Wood LLP
Mr. Wood handles a wide range of tax planning and tax controversy matters. He also serves as an expert witness on tax... | Read More
Mr. Wood handles a wide range of tax planning and tax controversy matters. He also serves as an expert witness on tax issues in legal disputes. Mr. Wood is best known for his expertise advising plaintiffs, defendants, and lawyers on the tax treatment of legal settlements and judgments. He authored the leading book on this topic, Taxation of Damage Awards & Settlement Payments (5th Ed 2021), as well as the Bloomberg Tax Management Portfolio, Tax Aspects of Settlements and Judgments (522).
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