My main research objective is to examine current trends in retirement and other employee benefits, through both a theoretical and practical lens, and then seek to effect positive change by posing workable solutions. I often incorporate tax ramifications. There are numerous ways that benefits are tax-advantaged and yet do not serve society in a manner the tax benefit anticipated. For example, the system has not ensured the equality of treatment for different taxpayer groups such as low-paid workers, including women and people of color. My goal has been, and continues to be, to illuminate inequities that emanate from tax-advantaged employee benefits.
401(k) Vesting Schedules
I have written on 401(k) plan vesting schedules in high employee turnover businesses pointing out the inequities of their use. For example, in Megacompany Employee Churn Meets 401(k) Vesting Schedules: A Sabotage on Workers’ Retirement Wealth, published by Yale Law & Policy Review as its lead article in 2022, I show employees at Amazon and Home Depot—two high employee turnover businesses—are missing out on employer matching contributions due to the long-term vesting schedules those companies’ plans use. I further discuss how this practice financially benefits the companies while fomenting retirement wealth inequality.
Following this line of research, I co-authored empirical work with two of my research assistants, Tim Azizkhan and Luke Gorman, and my daughter Cassidy R. Prince. In The Effects of 401(k) Vesting Schedules – in Numbers, we provide startling data that goes beyond supporting the assertions I make in the Megacompany article.
Because of my work in this area, I was invited to speak at the 2024 AALS Annual Meeting in the Emerging Issues in Retirement Equity program.
Benefits Washing & Benefits Transparency
Because employee benefits comprise about 25% of a worker’s compensation, it is important that workers understand what their benefits are. Without transparency and honest disclosure, wage gaps will continue. Company disclosures do not divulge enough information to properly value the benefits–not in job postings and not on company websites. For example, many people do not understand that 401(k) plan features differ significantly across employers. And unfortunately, when employers do disclose information, they often engage in “benefits washing.” I use the term benefits washing to describe when companies provide vague or misleading information about their employee benefits in an effort to make their benefits seem better than they are. This is a practice that has to stop.
New Employee Benefits
I have also written on new employee benefits. In my article, Deducting Dobbs: The Taxation of Abortion-Related Travel Benefits, I discuss issues women face when embarking on abortion-related travel together with the tax implications for both individuals and the companies who offer such benefits.
App-based (Gig) Work
The first two articles that I have written focus on app-based worker classification. The issues posed by classifying workers as employees or independent contractors are varied but include lack of benefits which are traditionally linked to employment. One of my articles focuses on California’s AB5 and the other is a compendium of worker classification laws across the globe.
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