Offering Benefits to Independent Contractors Without Creating Employees: The New State Portable Benefits Safe Harbors

Matthew I. Whitehorn, Partner | Dilworth Paxson LLP

Matthew I. Whitehorn is a Partner in Dilworth Paxson’s Tax Group, Chair of the firm’s Employee Benefits Group, Chair of its Pro Bono Committee, and a member of its Executive Committee. He has concentrated his practice on ERISA matters for more than 25 years, advising employers, plan sponsors, and fiduciaries on retirement, health and welfare, and deferred compensation arrangements. He served as the 2016-2017 Chair of the IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT).

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Whitehorn earned his LL.M. in Taxation from Temple University School of Law in 1987, his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law in 1984, and a B.A./M.A. in History from Johns Hopkins University in 1981. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania (1984), New Jersey (1985), and the District of Columbia (1988), as well as before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the U.S. Tax Court. He speaks Hebrew.

• Recognition & Leadership

Mr. Whitehorn is ranked in Chambers USA for Pennsylvania Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation (2025 to present) and is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. He has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law since 2022 and named to the Pennsylvania Super Lawyers list for Employee Benefits from 2014-2019 and 2022 to present. He received the Legal Clinic for The Disabled Special Service Award in 2019 and the Villanova Law Alumni Association Award for Public Service in 2017.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Whitehorn serves as Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association Employee Benefits Committee and is a member of its Pension Committee. He is a member of the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans, the IRS Mid-Atlantic Area Pension Liaison Group, the ABA Labor and Employment Section (Employee Benefits Committee), the ABA Tax Section’s Low Income Taxpayer Committee, and the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Legal Services to the Public Committee and Tax Section. He is an Adjunct Law Faculty member at Temple University Beasley School of Law, where he has taught Qualified Employee Benefit Plans and Executive Compensation through its Graduate Tax Program, and he serves as Treasurer of AccessMatters and on the Finance Committee of Philadelphia VIP, Inc.

• Experience

Mr. Whitehorn advises the human resource departments of private sector companies, tax-exempt organizations, and governmental employers on retirement and health and welfare plans. His practice covers Affordable Care Act compliance, governmental and tax-exempt employer pension and 457(b) plans, employee benefits in bankruptcy, compliance reviews of qualified retirement plans, and nonqualified deferred compensation plans under Code Section 409A and Code Section 457(f). He negotiated a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor EBSA over fiduciary breach claims, interacted with the PBGC regarding an involuntary plan termination, secured IRS and U.S. Department of Labor plan correction approvals, negotiated settlements of multiemployer plan withdrawal liability assessments, and obtained relief from IRS-assessed ACA ESRP and reporting penalties.

Marjorie McMahon Obod, Partner | Dilworth Paxson LLP

Marjorie McMahon Obod is a Partner at Dilworth Paxson LLP, Chair of the firm’s Educational Institutions Group, and Co-Chair of its Labor & Employment Group. She advises corporate clients and non-profit organizations in labor, employment, education, and regulatory matters, including wage and hour audits, reviews, and litigation, disputes raised by the Department of Labor, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) claims brought in federal and state courts in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia. She represents clients before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board, and she has extensive experience in compliance and workplace investigations.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Obod earned her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1986 and her B.S. from Washington and Jefferson College in 1983. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania (1986) and before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (2002). She speaks Italian.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Obod has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America for Litigation – Labor and Employment since 2025, was selected as a 2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment Law by American Lawyer Media and Martindale-Hubbell, and was named among the Philadelphia Business Journal’s Leaders in Law for Labor & Employment in 2009. At Dilworth Paxson, she leads the Educational Institutions Group as Chair and the Labor & Employment Group as Co-Chair, and she was featured in Attorney At Law magazine’s 2025 Women in Law special issue.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Obod presented Joint Employment Quandary: Navigating NLRB’s Expansive New Rule; Increased Risks for Union and Non-Union Employers in January 2024 and co-authored DOL’s New 2-Phased Salary Basis Increase for OT Exemptions Has Businesses Crying Foul in The Legal Intelligencer in June 2024. Her earlier programs include a CLE session on the interplay of the FMLA and the ADA, webinars on restrictive covenants and on non-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and training, and a presentation on
LGBT issues in the workplace for the MidAtlantic Employers Association HR & Employment Law Conference. Her recent writing includes First Amendment Freedoms and Federal Funds: Why Harvard’s Stand Matters for All Americans (2025) and Strategies: Making a Case for a Law Degree (2025).

• Experience

Ms. Obod has represented corporate and public entities in Department of Labor investigations, handled wage and hour audits, reviews, and litigation, and represented employers in negotiating employee benefits, including pension matters. She has represented regional and national public companies on WARN Act compliance, represented management in union negotiations, decertification elections, and NLRB grievance and arbitration proceedings, and represented employers in downsizing, layoffs, and furloughs, as well as in negotiating severance agreements for high-level executives. She represents the School District of Philadelphia in complex litigation and successfully defended the District against class action claims under the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act and discrimination claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, the Equal Education Opportunities Act, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. She has also drafted personnel policies and procedures for the U.S. branch of an international technology company and advised on employment-at-will documentation and the enforcement of restrictive covenants and trade secrets.

Giavanna Litz, Associate | Dilworth Paxson LLP

Giavanna Litz is an Associate in Dilworth Paxson LLP’s Litigation Department, where she brings strong research, writing, and advocacy skills to complex matters. She assists senior attorneys with matters that require detailed research, careful drafting, and thorough preparation, and she is recognized for approaching complex disputes methodically and contributing to the team’s ability to address litigation efficiently.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Litz earned her J.D. from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law in 2025 and her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh in 2022. She is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania (2025).

• Recognition & Leadership

At graduation, Ms. Litz was honored with the Clinical Legal Education Association Award, reflecting her commitment to combining technical ability with meaningful advocacy. At Villanova Law, she served as Director of External Competitions for the Moot Court Board and as President of the Middle Eastern Law Students Association, roles that sharpened her skills in legal research, writing, and building consensus across diverse groups.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Litz served on the Moot Court Board at Villanova Law as Director of External Competitions from 2024 to 2025 and as President of the Middle Eastern Law Students Association from 2023 to 2025. She was a Fellow of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group in 2023.

• Experience

Ms. Litz completed a judicial externship with the Pennsylvania Superior Court, where she reviewed case records, drafted memoranda, and analyzed trial court decisions. In the Villanova Law Health Law Clinic, she gained advocacy experience by interviewing clients, preparing exhibits, and drafting courtroom materials. At Dilworth Paxson, she supports complex litigation matters with precision and reliability.

SESSION 1 – Advising Clients on Contractor Benefit Contributions: The State-by-State Go/No-Go Analysis and the Drafting That Follows | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

Maps the portable benefits safe harbors in Utah, Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia, then builds a jurisdiction-specific go/no-go framework for advising clients, structuring independent contractor agreements, and meeting each enacted state law’s statutory drafting requirements.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Keeping Contractor Benefit Accounts Outside ERISA: Plan-Status, MEWA, and Tax Traps in Portable Benefits Design | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

Examines the federal risks that remain once state safe harbors are satisfied: ERISA plan-status exposure, MEWA classification, and the IRC tax-exclusion gap, plus structural design principles, Form M-1 exposure, HSA workarounds, and pending federal legislation’s limits.