Mr. Schreier represents clients primarily in the area of ERISA, employee benefits and compensation. His practice primarily involves advising profit and nonprofit employers on planning and compliance issues involving all aspects of employee benefits, including welfare benefits, qualified retirement and other deferred compensation plans. His experience includes counseling on executive compensation programs, controlled group planning, multiemployer benefits plans, consumer directed health care, ERISA reporting and disclosure issues, prohibited transactions, fiduciary compliance and best practices, flexible benefits, COBRA, FMLA, ADA, HIPAA and other benefits issues. He counsels employers on compliance with health care reform and serves as legal counsel to numerous pension and 401(k) investment and administrative committees.
Education & Credentials
Education
University of Michigan
B.A., 1983- with high distinction
University of Michigan Law School
J.D., 1987- cum laude
Bar Admission
Acknowledgements
- The Best Lawyers in America®
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law; Employment Law - Management; Labor Law - Management, 2009-2024
- "Lawyer of the Year," Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2017, 2019, 2021
- "Lawyer of the Year," Labor Law – Management, 2018
- "Lawyer of the Year," Employment Law - Management, 2015, 2022
- Chambers USA, America's Leading Lawyers for Business
- Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation, 2011-2023
- Michigan Super Lawyers®
- Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2011-2018
- DBusiness Magazine
- "Top Lawyers in Metro Detroit," Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2011-2023
Prominent Assignments
- Established fiduciary compliance program for qualified retirement plans with 9,000 participants/$600 million in assets; drafted documents on committee members, authority, responsibility and rules and policies for paying expenses from plan assets
- Assisted tier one automotive supplier in structuring plant closing benefits for union employees; analyzed legal issues on providing pension accruals post-plant closing and advice on benefit funding, vesting and reporting and disclosure obligations
- Restructured 16 retiree health care programs for major manufacturing company into five consolidated programs with reduced benefits and assisted with retiree communication and acceptance program
- Designed health risk assessment program that complies with ERISA, HIPAA, ADA, and GINA , integrated with employer's wellness programs and incentives and determined if eligibility to participate in health plan could be contingent on completing HRA
- Assisted tier one automotive supplier with merging single employer union pension plan into multiemployer national pension fund; negotiated merger agreement and liability and asset transfer terms; provided technical compliance guidance
- Provided employee benefits due diligence and reviewed warranties and representations in connection with a private equity investor’s purchase of a major OEM's glass manufacturing operations in North America
- Prepared plan documents and coordinated compliance efforts in connection with merger of four defined benefit pension plans into employer’s consolidated national pension plan
- Successfully obtained IRS approval and Compliance Statement under the Employee Plan Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS) to retroactively correct 23 operational and plan document errors for major tier one automotive supplier's pension plan
- Prepared HIPAA Privacy and Security policies and procedures for client group health plans, including administrative forms, notices, business associate agreements and plans sponsor certifications; updated documents and procedures to comply with HITECH
- Advised large manufacturing clients regarding Code Section 409A compliance for executive supplemental deferred compensation plans, deferred compensation plans and in-kind benefit programs
- Provided strategic advice and analysis for publicly traded Fortune 500 company on approach to managing multiemployer pension funds in endangered or critical status and withdrawal liability risks for more than 100 multiemployer pension funds
- Advised tier one automotive supplier with documents and legal implications of merging multiple nonqualified deferred compensation plans with rabbi trusts into single national plan with single rabbi trust
- Advised clients on strategies for addressing Code Section 409A specified employee status for international employees
Professional Involvement
- State Bar of Michigan - Labor and Employment Section; Taxation Section
- Washtenaw County Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section; Tax Law Sections
- American Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section
Publications/Presentations
- Author, "DOL Final Regulations on ESG Investing: “It’s All ‘Bout the Money”," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, December 2022
- Author, “401(k) Plan Sponsors – It Doesn’t Pay to Ignore Your Plan’s Definition of Compensation,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, June 2022
- Author, "Knowledge is Power: Information Available to Contributing Employers in Multiemployer Fringe Benefit Plans," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, November 2021
- Author, “Does the Tail Know What the Head is Doing? – The Importance of Internal Communication Between Management and Employee Benefits Personnel,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, June 2021
- Author, “Hey Employers, Can You Prove You Don't Owe Multiemployer Fringe Fund Contributions?,” Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, April 2021
- Author, "Employee Benefit Provisions in the CARES Act Provide Employer and Participant Relief," Dickinson Wright Tax Blog, March 30, 2020
- Author, "Summary of Employee Benefits Provisions in CARES Act (As Passed by U.S. Senate)," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, March 27, 2020
- Author, "Employer Actions for 401(K) Plans Sickened by Coronavirus," Dickinson Wright All Things HR Blog, March 19, 2020