Practice Areas

Employee-Employer Disputes

The attorneys at Weatherford Thompson have experience handling labor and employment issues for both employers and employees. Generally, in Oregon, employment is considered to be at will. This means that the employee or the employer may terminate the employment relationship at any time for any reason that is not unlawful. Nonetheless, state and federal laws do provide employees with various rights, which protect them from discrimination, retaliation, and termination. The attorneys are Weatherford Thompson on can assist with nearly all types of claims such as discrimination, breach of contract, wage, injured worker, retaliation, wrongful termination and severance packages and more.

Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation

Throughout periods of economic and labor market fluctuation, competition among employers to attract the best and the brightest talent remains a constant. Employees now place a premium on retirement, health and other benefits, and those packages are one of the most heavily-regulated aspects of the employment relationship. In this competitive climate, employers need counsel with the background, resources, skills and savvy to develop successful benefit plans and to have answers when questions arise. Our employee benefits and executive compensation attorneys meets the challenges employers face in connection with the compensation of employees and the planning and administration of employee benefits, and assists in the design and drafting of all forms of executive compensation plans. Our practice encompasses an extensive variety of benefit plans and offers counsel on issues including:

• 401(k) and profit sharing plans
• 412(i) plans
• Benefit compliance, including IRS and DOL voluntary correction procedures and audits
• Cafeteria plans
• COBRA and HIPAA
• Defined benefit and cash balance plans
• Documentation for benefit plans of all types, including summary plan descriptions and administrative documents
• ESOP plans and stock bonus plans
• ESOP transactions
• Executive compensation arrangements, including incentive compensation, life insurance arrangements.
• Full range of employee benefit litigation, including benefit claims, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and multiemployer withdrawal liability claims
• Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs)/Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
• Law changes and emerging benefit issues
• Mediation of benefit claim disputes
• Mergers & acquisitions
• Nonprofit, tax-exempt, and governmental organizations benefit and compensation arrangements, including tax-sheltered annuities, 403(b) plans, and 457 plans
• Nonqualified deferred compensation programs (including 409A compliance)
• Stock-based compensation arrangements
• Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs)