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Ann M. Caresani
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acaresani@porterwright.com
p: 216-443-2570 f: 216-443-9011
925 Euclid Ave.
Suite 1700
Cleveland, OH 44115-1483
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EmployerLawReport Blog: 
Ms. Caresani, a partner in the employee benefits area, has considerable experience counseling employers regarding the design, administration and termination of their employee benefit programs, including tax-qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and executive compensation arrangements (including management incentive programs and nonqualified deferred compensation plans).
She defends employers, plan administrators, trustees, banks, insurers, investment managers, and other fiduciaries and service providers in a broad range of ERISA litigation matters, such as class action pension claims, employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) breach of fiduciary claims, multi-employer plan breach of fiduciary duty claims regarding investment management, bankruptcy trustee claims involving 403(b) plan assets, executive compensation top-hat benefit claims, and denial of medical and disability benefit claims.
In addition, as a CPA with a Master’s in Business Administration, Ms. Caresani applies her years of financial consulting experience to help plan fiduciaries resolve technical issues with actuaries, third-party administrators, and other service providers. She also represents employers with respect to employee benefit matters before various governmental agencies, including the Internal Revenue Service, and Department of Labor. She assists employers with government filings and reports, audits, criminal investigations, voluntary compliance programs, determination letter requests, and private letter ruling requests.
Ms. Caresani advises employers regarding compliance with a variety of laws impacting employee benefits, including the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, FMLA, ADA, ADEA, Title VII, COBRA, HIPAA, and state small employer health plan law. She works with employers to develop creative, workable methods of ensuring compliance, such as establishment of multiple employer plans, qualified separate lines of business, and 401(k) safe harbor plans. When employers sponsor ESOPs or otherwise offer employees the opportunity to invest in employer stock, Ms. Caresani offers advice concerning alternative program designs, fiduciary liability, and developing litigation trends. She also advises financial institutions regarding prohibited transaction exemptions.
Ms. Caresani assists clients through corporate organizational changes impacting employees benefits, including mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, downsizing, severance, succession of ownership, and transition of employees to a professional employer organization. She has performed due diligence and negotiated covenants, representation, and warranties in purchase and merger agreements. Ms. Caresani assists clients with designing programs and employee communications to maintain satisfaction among non-collectively bargained employees, implementing new programs and design changes consistent with collective bargaining agreements, and assessing multi-employer plan exposure in corporate transactions.
Practice Areas
Employee Benefits
ARetirement plans
BHealth & welfare plans
CNonqualified plans & executive compensation
DEmployee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)
ETax-exempt & governmental employers
FERISA litigation
GBenefits issues related to mergers & acquisitions
HAudits & correction
KERISA fiduciary compliance
Professional Associations
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Women in Law Section, Co-Vice Chair, CLE Committee, 2009-2010
American Bar Association
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network
Education
Cleveland-Marshall College of Law , J.D., magna cum laude, 1994
Cleveland State University, M.B.A., 1993
Cleveland State University, B.B.A., Business Administration, magna cum laude, 1988
Bar Admissions
State of Ohio
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
Presentations/Publications/CLE
Speaker, Porter Wright’s Employment Relations Seminar Guiding You Safely Through Challenging Workplace Issues, “Health Care Reform: What Employers Need to Know,” Columbus, Ohio, May 4, 2010
Author, “Reenergizing America,” Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal, April 2010
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright’s Employment Relations Seminar What To Do When The Government Is At Your Door, “The ABCs of Workplace Investigations: OSHA, OCRA, EEOC, BWC, IRS,” October 21, 2009
Speaker, Annual Convention of the Community Bankers Association of Ohio, “401(k) Fiduciary Responsibilities,” August 5, 2009
Speaker, Porter Wright’s Employment Relations Seminar The Changing Landscape of Labor and Employment Law, “Cases, Courts, and Congress: What to Watch for in 2009,” April 2, 2009
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright’s Webinar COBRA Premium Subsidy: Action Steps Required to Avoid Problems, April 1, 2009
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright Seminar Hot Topics in Employee Benefits, “Health & Welfare Plan Changes” and “Qualified Retirement Plans,” March 18, 2009
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright’s Employment Relations Seminar, “ERISA Litigation: Minimizing liability with effective prevention and defense strategies,” Cleveland, October 22, 2008; Columbus, October 14, 2008
Speaker, Porter Wright's Cleveland Employment Relations Seminar, “Employee Benefits: Avoiding the Latest 401(k) and Severance Lawsuits,” April 2008
Speaker, Porter Wright's Fall 2007 Employment Relations Seminar, "Ongoing Issues Under HIPAA and COBRA," November 14, 2007
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright Seminar Hot Topics in Employee Benefits, “The Pension Protection Act of 2006,” “Fiduciaries Under Siege,” “Identifying and Correcting Errors Before the Government Steps In,” September 2007
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright Seminar Hot Topics in Employee Benefits, “Executive Compensation & Nonqualified Plans,” “Retirement Plans,” February 2006
Panel Speaker, Porter Wright's Employment Relations Seminar, “Drafting Employment Agreements Before, During & After Employment,” February 2006
Speaker, Lorman Education Services, Leave, Light Duty & Return to Work, January 2004 and January 2005
Honors & Awards
YWCA of Greater Cleveland’s Women of Professional Excellence Award, 2009
2005 Ohio Super Lawyers® Rising Star, Key Professional Media, Inc.
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