Texas v U.S. - One Year Later: The Status and Future of the Affordable Care Act

Carolyn regularly advises public, private and non-profit employers on a range of employee benefits topics.

She designs and assists clients with the ongoing administration of tax-qualified retirement plans including defined benefit pension plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457 deferred compensation plans, profit-sharing plans, and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). She routinely helps clients with health and welfare plan matters including plan design and COBRA and HIPAA related questions. She also works with employers to establish and maintain non-qualified, stock option and fringe benefit plans.

Specifically, Carolyn has assisted clients with restructuring retiree medical programs, merging and terminating employee benefit plans, evaluating executive compensation arrangements and negotiating vendor agreements and trust agreements. She often advises employers on employee benefits matters during mergers and acquisitions, including issues related to the compensation and benefits of transferred and terminated employees. She routinely obtains rulings and determinations from the IRS, the U.S. Department of Labor and other government agencies and guides clients through agency audits and the use of government-sponsored compliance and correction programs.

Carolyn also counsels employers and employee benefit plan committees on ERISA fiduciary obligations. She frequently publishes articles and speaks on a variety of employee benefits subjects.

In 2001, Carolyn completed the University of Notre Dame Law School's Concannon Program of International Law. While earning her undergraduate degree, Carolyn was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta honor society.

Yelena Gray advises employers of all types and sizes on issues related to employee benefit plan design, implementation, administration and regulatory compliance. Yelena also assists clients in negotiating employment agreements and structuring executive compensation.

Jacquie is of counsel in the Vorys Houston office and a member of the labor and employment group. Her practice focuses on employee benefits and related compensation tax matters. Jacquie has extensive experience providing legal advice to human resource and corporate financial services leaders on employee benefits and employment tax laws including: ERISA, ADEA, ADA, FMLA, COBRA, ACA, HIPAA, TCJA, and other applicable federal and state tax laws.

More recently, as supervising tax counsel at Exxon Mobil Corporation, she was responsible for legal compliance of medical, dental, life insurance and disability plans. In addition, she advised on payroll tax matters.

Prior to joining ExxonMobil, she was in-house counsel at Lincoln Financial Group for more than two decades with similar responsibilities.

Elena Kaplan has more than 20 years of experience advising employers on how to implement successful benefit programs to attract and retain talent, while complying with a myriad of applicable laws, including ERISA and the Internal Revenue Code. She provides advice on all manner of benefits, including health and welfare benefits, qualified retirement plans, executive compensation, and severance. Elena also assists employers with plan design, implementation, ongoing compliance, and plan termination, as well as navigating the benefits issues that arise when buying or selling a business.

A great deal of Elena's practice over the years has involved assisting employers with Affordable Care Act compliance, including updating plans to comply with coverage mandates and providing guidance about the "play or pay" rules for employers. She also has extensive experience advising covered entities about the HIPAA Privacy rules. In addition, Elena devotes a portion of her practice to the formation and ongoing compliance of nonprofit entities, including filing for and maintaining tax-exempt status.

Elena currently serves as secretary of the Jones Day Foundation and as a vice chair of the Employee Benefits Committee of the ABA Tax Section. She is a past president of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia and served for 12 years on the board of governors of the State Bar of Georgia