Partner

Jonathan M. Cerrito counsels sponsors of multiemployer and single-employer plans, companies, tax-exempt entities and executives on all matters of tax, ERISA, employee benefits, nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements and the employee benefit aspects of mergers. Jonathan was named by the Whitman School of Management of Syracuse University as one of the 2009 “40 Under 40” based on extraordinary achievement in his career and contributions to the community.

Jonathan regularly advises on the design, operation, merger and termination of tax-qualified pension plans and welfare benefit plans. His practice includes advising ERISA fiduciaries on the investment of plan assets, reporting and disclosure, prohibited transaction rules and tax matters. He also advises tax-exempt organizations on employee benefit issues and unrelated business income tax (UBIT).

In addition, Jonathan has significant experience handling ERISA controversies with a focus on investigations by the U.S. Department of Labor concerning fiduciary matters and alleged statutory violations. He has handled over two dozen of such investigations and has also been involved in audits conducted by the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.

Significant Representations

• Counsel to Boards of Trustees of multiemployer pension and welfare plans with individual assets of several billion dollars on day-to-day matters as well as special transactions.
• Draft and negotiate investment manager agreements, adoption agreements for group trusts and side letters with various private equity and hedge funds concerning the investment of plan assets.(Read More)

• Counsel to several different fiduciaries in a series of U.S. Department of Labor investigations concerning fiduciary matters and plan investments.
• Successfully structure cutting-edge welfare benefit plan with multiple employer participation and secured IRS determination letter.
• Handled the employee benefit aspects of several merger transactions for federal credit unions involving employment, severance, change-in-control, pension and welfare plans and nonqualified deferred compensation plans.
• Represented trade association in IRS audit involving activities unrelated to the association’s tax-exempt purpose, the creation of a for-profit subsidiary and implementation of employee benefit plans.
• Counsel to plan administrator in a U.S. Department of Labor audit involving an alleged statutory violation and demonstrated how the accountant’s methodology of testing employer payroll records satisfied ERISA and generally accepted auditing standards.
• Secured individual prohibited transaction exemptions from the U.S. Department of Labor involving the sale of real property between related parties.

Publications

• “The 457 Trap: Taxing Executives Upon Vesting, Really?,” CUEd In: The Law and Business of Employee Benefits for Credit Union Executives, Volume I, Issue 1, March 2011.
• “Defending Trustees Against Failure to Diversify Claims,” Benefits & Compensation Digest, International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Volume 47, No. 12, December 2010.
• “Defending ERISA Fiduciaries Against Claims of Failure to Diversify in a World of Multi-Manager Investments,” BNA Pension & Benefits Daily, 147 PBD, 08/03/2010.
• “VII. Pension and Benefits” in the chapter on U.S. labor and employment law in International and Employment Laws, Third Edition, Vol. IB (Keller & Darby eds., BNA Books 2006 – present)(Read More)

• “Employee Benefits & ERISA Update,” Labor & Employment Law Program, National CLE Conference, January 2010.
• “Foreign Partnership Interests: How Do ERISA Fiduciaries Maintain Indicia of Ownership Within the Jurisdiction of U.S. Courts?,” BNA Pension & Benefits Daily, 147 PBD, 08/04/2009.
• “Employee Benefits & ERISA Update,” Labor & Employment Law Program, National CLE Conference, January 2009.
• “Multiemployer Plan Funding: The Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008,” 19th Annual Labor Law Seminar, January 2009.
• “Separation Agreements: Breaking Up Is Hard To Do!,” Employment Law Update, Continuing Legal Education Seminar presented by Sterling Education Services, Inc., January 2009.
• “Proxy Voting,” B&K ERISA Newsletter, July 2008.
• “How Health Reimbursement Arrangements Can Reduce Your Cost and Increase Your Benefits,” Continuing Legal Education Seminar presented by Lorman Education Services, May 2008.
• “Health Reimbursement Arrangements,” 14th Annual ERISA and Employee Benefits Seminar, July 2008.
• “Employee Benefits & ERISA Update,” Labor & Employment Law Program, National CLE Conference, January 2008.
• “Coping with the Aftermath of the Pension Protection Act of 2006,” 18th Annual Labor Law Seminar, January 2008.
• “The ABC’s of Taxing Stock-Based Compensation,” Perspective Newsletter, Fall 2007, published by the New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, New York 12207.
• “Defined Contribution Plan Fee Disclosures,” 13th Annual ERISA and Employee Benefits Seminar, July 2007.
• “Where, Oh Where, Has My Pension and Benefits Plan Gone? ERISA Update,” Labor & Employment Law Program, National CLE Conference, January 2007.
• “The New World of Qualified Deferred Compensation under the Pension Protection Act of 2006,” 17th Annual Labor Law Seminar, January 2007.

Speaking Engagements

• Annual ERISA and Employee Benefits Seminar, Blitman & King (2007 – Present).(Read More)

• Annual Labor Law Seminar, Employee Benefits Breakout, Blitman & King (2007 – Present).
• A Salesperson’s Rights (Employee Benefits Negotiation), Central New York Sales & Marketing Executives, January 2010.
• Employment Law Update, Continuing Legal Education Seminar presented by Sterling Education Services, Inc., January 2009.
• “HSAs, HRAs, FSAs: How They Can Reduce Your Cost and Increase Your Benefits,” Continuing Legal Education Seminar presented by Lorman Education Services, May 2008.

Affiliations

American Bar Association (Tax Section and Labor and Employment Section), New York State Bar Association (Tax Section and Labor and Employment), Connecticut Bar Association, Onondaga County Bar Association (Tax Section and Labor and Employment)