Overview
Mindi Johnson is the current leader of the firm's employee benefits practice group. She helps clients navigate challenges and solve problems in the areas of employee benefits law and health care law with a business-minded approach, and a service-oriented delivery. Specifically, the types of matters Mindi handles include:
Employee Benefits Law
- Advising taxable and tax-exempt non-governmental employers and governmental employers regarding federal and state deferred compensation and welfare benefits law, including matters related to fiduciary standards and ERISA compliance.
- Implementing strategic changes to qualified retirement plans (such as 401(k) Plans and ESOPs) and welfare benefits plans (such as group health plans, MEWAS, Cafeteria Plans and Group Benefit Plans).
- Facilitating employee benefit plan corrections to reduce penalties and legal exposure through formal governmental programs, such as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Voluntary Correction Program and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program.
- Responding to the IRS and DOL audits and investigations of employee benefit plans.
- Providing legal compliance reviews and audits of corporate benefit packages.
- Assisting with benefit plan administration, including preparation of QDROs, distribution materials and nondiscrimination testing.
Health Care Reform
- Developing strategic plans for implementing benefit packages that comply with mandates (and employers' budgets).
- Providing guidance on administrative challenges, including reporting requirements, determination of measurement and stability periods penalty assessment and transitional issues.
Health Care Law
- Advising health care providers on various legal issues, including fraud & abuse, regulatory, licensing, compliance, billing, Medicare/Medicaid and HIPAA.
- Assisting with health care facility mergers and acquisitions.
Honors & Recognitions
Michigan Lawyers Weekly Woman in the Law Honoree, 2018
Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce ATHENA Young Professional Award Nominee, 2009
Michigan State Bar Foundation, Fellow
Affiliations
Memberships & Affiliations
Legal Affiliations:
- ABA Tax Section
- Employee Benefits Committee
- Defined Contribution Plans Vice Chair
- State Bar of Michigan
- Taxation Section
- Council Member
- Michigan Tax Lawyer Editor
- Health Care Law Section
- Taxation Section
- American Bar Association
- Taxation Section
Industry & Professional Associations:
- American Benefits Council
- National Center of Employee Ownership (NCEO)
- ESOP Association
- Michigan Women's Tax Association
- Calvin College Alumni Association
Community Activities:
- Girls on the Run of Kent and Muskegon Counties, Former Member of Board of Directors
- Grandville Calvin Christian Schools, Board of Directors
Communications
Recent Blog Posts
Health Care Law Blog
- IRS Begins Enforcement of ACA Employer Mandate
- Obamacare Repeal and Replacement Plan- What does it mean for Employers?
- OCR Begins Phase 2 Audit Program of Covered Entities and Business Associates
- Affordable Care Act Reporting Deadlines Extended
- Government Intervenes in Affordable Care Act 60 day Rule Violation Allegation
- The US Supreme Court's Ruling on the Affordable Care Act will not Change Employers' Responsibilities
- The IRS Provides Temporary Relief for Certain Health Reimbursement Arrangements
- Reimbursing Individual Health Insurance Policy Premiums May Result in Significant Penalties for Employers
Michigan Labor & Employment Law
Tax Law Blog
Publications
- Proposed IRS Regulations Clarify New Rules Relating to Hardship Distributions, November 2018 Business & Tax Law News, November 20, 2018
- New Disability Claims Procedures Take Effect on April 1st, March 2018 Business & Corporate Law News, March 12, 2018
- U.S. Supreme Court Affirms that Collective Bargaining Agreements Must be Interpreted According to “Ordinary Principles of Contract Law”, March 2018 Business & Corporate Law News, March 12, 2018
- Tax Reform: What to Expect Regarding Employee Benefits, Lexology, January 11, 2018
- Qualified Plan Overpayments: Not all Hope is Lost, Michigan Tax Lawyer, Winter Edition, March 14, 2017
- Nationwide Right to Same-Sex Marriage: Employee Benefit Implications, Foster Swift Employment, Labor & Benefits News, June 30, 2015
News & Events
News
- Johnson Selected to “Women in the Law” Class of 2018, Grand Rapids Business Journal, August 2, 2018
- Foster Swift Attorney Re-Elected as Council Member with the SBM's Taxation Section, Grand Rapids Bar Association, October 12, 2017
- Foster Swift Elects Four New Shareholders, January 25, 2016
- Attorney Mindi Johnson to Lead Foster Swift Employee Benefits Practice, January 20, 2015
Speaking Engagements
- Employee Benefits options for Small Employers, Institute for Continuing Legal Education (ICLE): Tax Institute, May 24, 2018
- ESOP Association - MI Chapter: Coordinating Your Retirement Benefits: ESOP and 401(k), April 11, 2018
- Employee Benefits-Related Tax Issues, ICLE On-Demand Tax Law Series, November 2017
- Emerging Trend: A Defined Contribution Approach to Health Care Coverage, Lansing Economic Club, October 27, 2016
- ESOP Administration Q+A- Get Your Questions Answered, Great Lakes Regional ESOP Conference, October 20, 2016
- ERISA Fiduciary Duties and Retirement Plan, July 21, 2016
Practice Areas
Education
St. Louis University School of Law, J.D., 2004 cum laude
Calvin College, B.A., Communication, 2001
Bar and Court Admissions
Michigan
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan
Employee Benefits: Cafeteria Plan
Employee Benefits: Importance of Proper Counsel
Employee Benefits: Retirement Plan Failures
Employee Benefits: Retirement Plan Issues