Overview

Mindi Johnson is the co- leader of the firm's business and tax practice group and previously chaired the firm's employee benefits team. 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.

In addition to her practice, Mindi is very active in professional and community activities. She is a member of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Michigan Women's Tax Association and is the Vice President of Professionals of the Michigan Chapter of the ESOP Association. Mindi also serves as the Michigan Tax Lawyer Editor.

Honors & Recognitions

Affiliations

Memberships & Affiliations

Legal Affiliations:

• American Bar Association
  • Section of Taxation
  • Employee Benefits Committee
  • Defined Contribution Plans Vice Chair
• State Bar of Michigan
  • Taxation Section
    • Council Member
    • Michigan Tax Lawyer Editor
  • Health Care Law Section

Industry & Professional Associations:

• National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO)
• The ESOP Association
• Michigan Chapter of the ESOP Association, Vice President - Professionals
• Women Lawyers Association of Michigan
• 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

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

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News & Events

Speaking Engagements

• Ask the Experts ~ A Q&A for Non-Management Employee Owners, 2019 Spring ESOP Conference: Michigan Chapter of the ESOP Association, April 17, 2019
• Executive Deferred Compensation Arrangements in ESOP Companies, 2019 Spring ESOP Conference: Michigan Chapter of the ESOP Association, April 17, 2019
• 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

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News

• Foster Swift Announces Women in Leadership, Michigan Business Network, June 5, 2019
• Johnson Appointed as Business Practice Group Co-Leader, April 12, 2019
• 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

Media

Employer Services

Employee Benefits: Importance of Proper Counsel

Employee Benefits: Retirement Plan Failures

Employee Benefits: Retirement Plan Issues

Employee Benefits: Cafeteria Plan