Research
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.
Publications
Publications by Year
2025
- Benefits Washing, 113 Georgetown L. J. Online (2025).
2024
- Benefits Transparency, 108 Marq. L. Rev. 37 (2024).
- The Effects of 401(k) Vesting Schedules—in Numbers, 134 Yale L. J. F. 1 (2024) (with Tim Azizkhan, Cassidy R. Prince, and Luke Gorman).
- An LLC by Any Other Name is Still Not a Corporation, 54 Seton Hall L. Rev. 1105 (2024) (with Joshua P. Fershée).
2023
- Deducting Dobbs: The Tax Treatment of Abortion-Related Travel Benefits, 98 Tul. L. Rev. 1 (2023).
- ERISA Plan Fiduciaries and ESG Factors, The Regulatory Review, A publication of the Penn Law Program on Regulation, Apr. 26, 2023.
2022
- Megacompany Employee Churn Meets 401(k) Vesting Schedules: A Sabotage on Workers’ Retirement Wealth, 41 Yale L. & Pol’y Rev. 1 (2022).
- Employee Turnover & Partial Plan Terminations, 2022 N.Y.U. Rev. of Emp. Bens. & Exec. Comp. 6-1 (Oct. 2022).
- The Shoe’s About to Drop for the Gig Economy: Understanding the Current Worker Classification Landscape in Preparation for a Changed World, 52 Mem. L. Rev. 627 (2022).
- The AB5 Experiment – Should States Adopt California’s Worker Classification Law?, 11 Am. Univ. Bus. L. Rev. 43 (2022).
Other
- Facilitating Distinctive and Meaningful Change Within U.S. Law Schools (Part 2): Pursuing Successful Plan Implementation Through Better Resource Management, 18 Univ. New Hamp. L. Rev. 173 (2020) (with Patrick H. Gaughan).
- Partial Termination of Single-Employer Tax Qualified Plans: Clarity or Misappropriated Judicial Decision-Making?, 2 Geo. Mason Indep. L. Rev. 265 (1994) (with Jo Ann Petroziello).
Presentations & Conference Engagement
Presentations & Conferences By Year
2025
- Presenter/Panelist, American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Transactional Law and Skills Section, Transactional Pedagogy, January 2025. Presentation on a class assignment regarding a small business acquisition and sale.
2024
- Panel Moderator, ERISA at 50 Employee Benefits at a Crossroads, September 2024.
- Presenter/Panelist, American Association of Law Schools (AALS) Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Section, January 2024. Presentation on Emerging Issues in Retirement Equity.
2023
- Presenter, Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law, October 2023. Article presentation on Employee Benefits Transparency.
- Presenter, National Business Law Scholar Conference, June 2023. Article presentation on Sliding into Second Base: Inching Toward that Middle Ground Between Employee and Independent Contractor.
- Presenter, Dickinson Law Race & Equal Protection of the Laws Feb. 2023. Presentation on Megacompany Employee Churn Meets 401(k) Vesting Schedules: A Sabotage on Workers’ Retirement Wealth.
- Presenter, American Association of Law Schools (AALS) New & Emerging Voices in Workplace Law, Jan. 2023. Article presentation on Post-Dobbs Abortion-related Travel Benefits.
2022
- Presenter, Colloquium on Scholarship in Employment and Labor Law (COSELL) Oct. 2022. Article presentation on Post-Dobbs Abortion-related Travel Benefits.
- Presenter, LSU Law Business Organizations Class, Apr. 2022. Presentation named Worker Classification in the Gig Economy.
- Presenter, Faculty Development Series, Widener Commonwealth, Apr. 2022. Article presentation on Megacompany Employee Churn Meets 401(k) Vesting Schedules: A Sabotage on Workers’ Retirement Wealth.
- Presenter, Critical Tax Conference, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law, Mar. 2022. Article presentation on Megacompany Employee Churn Meets 401(k) Vesting Schedules: A Sabotage on Workers’ Retirement Wealth.
- Presenter, Pennsylvania Office of General Counsel’s CLE Writing & Litigation Workshop, Mar. 2022. Presentation named Clear, Complete, and Concise Writing.
2021
- Presenter, Dickinson Law Race & Equal Protection of the Laws Oct. 2021. Presentation title Challenges for Black Entrepreneurs: Access to Capital, Paycheck Protection Program, and the Pandemic.
- Presenter, National Business Law Scholar Conference, June 2021. Presented research and work on how 401(k) plan vesting schedules increase the wealth gap particularly in companies who have intentional employment turnover, such as Amazon.
2020
- Presenter, Dickinson Law Race & Equal Protection of the Laws Oct. 2020. Presentation title Challenges for Black Entrepreneurs: Access to Capital, Paycheck Protection Program, and the Pandemic.
- Presenter, National Business Law Scholar Conference, June 2020. Presented research and work on California’s AB5 worker classification law.
- Presenter, Small Business Administration, Boots to Business Program for entrepreneurial minded military personnel transitioning to civilian life. (Quarterly since June 2019)
- Panelist, Cybersecurity for Entrepreneurs, Penn State Smeal Club Happy Valley (Feb. 2020)
2019
- Panelist, Cybersecurity for Small Business, Penn State Hazelton, Hazleton Launchbox – Global Entrepreneurship Week Event (Nov. 2019)
2018
- Co-hosted the Lawyers as Innovative Partners Forum on Entrepreneurship and Healthcare, a collaboration with Penn State’s Center for Medical Innovation. The forum brought together doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, investors, and regulators to discuss the role of lawyers in fostering innovation and featured three panels: Lawyer-Entrepreneurs; Institutions Fostering Innovation; and Lawyers as Partners in Medical Innovation. (Apr. 2018)
