The Endorsement Trap: When Employee-Paid Voluntary Benefits Become ERISA Plans and Brokers Become Fiduciaries

Erin M. Sweeney, Partner | DLA Piper

Erin M. Sweeney is a partner in DLA Piper’s Washington, DC office and works across the full range of employee benefits questions employers face. Her advisory practice covers Affordable Care Act (ACA) compliance, mental health parity, transparency, health privacy and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), welfare benefit claims, health insurance continuation (COBRA), and benefit plan administration under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). She also handles U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits and investigations, and she counsels and represents parties in litigation over fiduciary obligations — plan investments, fee disclosure, and prohibited transactions and exemptions. Post-retirement medical benefits and the employee benefits provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) round out her advice.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Sweeney earned her J.D., cum laude, from American University Washington College of Law, as well as an M.A. from American University. She earned both her B.S. and B.A., summa cum laude, from Ohio University. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia, New York and Pennsylvania.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers USA has ranked Ms. Sweeney in Band 2 for District of Columbia Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation for 2026, following Band 3 rankings from 2019 through 2025. The Legal 500 United States recommended her in Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation and Retirement Plans: Design from 2024 through 2026 and in the transactional category in 2022. She is also listed in Best Lawyers in America and recognized by Super Lawyers as a top Employee Benefits attorney.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Sweeney co-chairs the ERISA Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section and is a member of The American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. She previously chaired both the ABA’s Joint Committee on Employee Benefits and the Employee Benefits Committee of the ABA Taxation Section. Her recent speaking engagements include “Benefits Management in a Changing Regulatory Environment” at the 2026 National Labor & Employment Law Symposium and a series of ABA programs addressing ERISA litigation, fiduciary rules, investment policy statements and health benefits. She has also published directly on this program’s subject, including “Voluntary benefit programs face increased ERISA fiduciary scrutiny: Top points” on March 19, 2026.

• Experience

Before entering private practice, Ms. Sweeney served as a senior benefit law specialist in the DOL’s Division of Fiduciary Interpretations. In that role, she represented the division at quarterly DOL Office of Enforcement meetings and served as the DOL representative at Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) board meetings. She developed and delivered training for DOL auditors and served as a primary architect of the agency’s qualified default investment regulation proposal. She received an Exceptional Achievement award for her work on drafting the Pension Protection Act and testified on behalf of the United States in multiple ERISA criminal matters.

Todd D. Wozniak, Partner | Holland & Knight LLP

Mr. Wozniak is a trial attorney and the leader of Holland & Knight’s ESOP and ERISA Litigation Team. Todd defends companies, fiduciaries, service providers and selling shareholders throughout the United States in ERISA litigation. Todd has defended dozens of class or collective actions and tried more than 40 cases or arbitrations to verdict. Todd is a frequent lecturer and writer on a wide range of ERISA issues, employee benefits, employment and business-related issues, including ERISA compliance and preemption, Department of Labor audits and investigations, IRS examinations, pre-dispute arbitration agreements and programs, class action defense, and eDiscovery.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Wozniak earned his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and his A.B., summa cum laude, from Duke University. He is admitted to practice in Georgia. His court admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court; the Supreme Court of Georgia and the Court of Appeals of Georgia; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits; and the U.S. District Courts for Colorado, the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan, the Northern, Middle and Southern Districts of Georgia, and the Western District of Tennessee.

• Recognition & Leadership

Chambers USA has recognized Mr. Wozniak in Labor & Employment and Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation in Georgia since 2007 and in ERISA Litigation nationwide since 2024. The Legal 500 USA recognizes him for ERISA litigation, while The Best Lawyers in America lists him for Employment Law –Management, Litigation – Labor and Employment, and Trade Secrets Law. His additional honors include Law360 MVP – Benefits in 2018, Lawdragon 500 Leading Corporate Employment Lawyers, Georgia Super Lawyers, and a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent peer review rating. Within Holland & Knight, he leads both the ERISA Litigation Team and the Atlanta Litigation Practice Group.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Wozniak is active in the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation and Section of Labor and Employment Law, the Atlanta Bar Association, and the State Bar of Georgia’s Litigation and Labor and Employment Law Sections. He has served on the Strafford Publications Employment and ERISA Advisory Board since 2011 and on the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Georgia since 2017. After volunteering with the organization since 1997, he became Treasurer in 2020. He also volunteers with Atlanta Legal Aid and the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyer Foundation and served on the Anti-Prejudice Consortium board from 2008 to 2012.

• Experience

Mr. Wozniak’s representative matters include defending ERISA claims involving 401(k) forfeitures and anti-inurement issues, excessive recordkeeping and managed-account fees, imprudent investments in guaranteed interest accounts, wellness programs under ERISA Section 702, and defined benefit disputes tied to corporate reorganizations and spinoffs, as well as ESOP matters in which he has defended plan sponsors, boards, and selling shareholders in DOL enforcement actions concerning stock valuation and trustee monitoring; he also secured a non-opt-out settlement class resulting in dismissal of all claims and no payment to class members after a court-appointed valuation special master found no damages. His broader litigation experience spans out-of-network reimbursement mass actions, FLSA collective actions, discrimination and whistleblower defense, trade secret and non-compete enforcement, and traditional labor disputes, including a case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court addressing NLRB quorum authority.

Lindsey R. Camp, Partner | Holland & Knight LLP

Ms. Camp is a trial attorney in Holland & Knight’s West Palm Beach and Atlanta offices and a member of Holland & Knight’s Chambers-recognized ERISA Litigation Team. She helps companies navigate the most complex challenges in employee benefits litigation with clarity, confidence and strategic insight. Ms. Camp represents plan sponsors, fiduciaries and boards in high-stakes Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) class actions and regulatory enforcement matters. Clients rely on her not only for her courtroom experience but also for her practical, business-minded guidance that helps minimize risk in the administration of defined contribution and health and welfare plans. A seasoned trial attorney, Ms. Camp has successfully defended numerous ERISA class actions involving breach of fiduciary duty, prohibited transactions, excessive fee claims and plan termination disputes. Her litigation experience spans federal courts, arbitration panels and appellate forums nationwide.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Camp earned her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law and her B.S. from Vanderbilt University. She is admitted to practice in Florida and Georgia. Her court admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court; the Florida Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Georgia; the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth, Sixth and Eleventh Circuits; and the U.S. District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Alabama, the Northern District of Georgia, the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida, and the Eastern District of Michigan.

• Recognition & Leadership

The Legal 500 USA recognized Ms. Camp in Labor and Employment – ERISA Litigation in 2021, 2022 and from 2024 through 2026. Holland & Knight named her to its Rising Star class of 2025. She also served as Vice Chair of the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Employee Benefits General Committee for 2024–2025.

• Professional Involvement

Beyond the courtroom, Ms. Camp works with in-house counsel, benefits professionals and outside advisors to help clients anticipate fiduciary exposure, respond to government investigations, and align benefit plan operations with evolving legal standards. She regularly publishes and speaks on ERISA litigation trends, fiduciary risk mitigation and regulatory developments. Her professional memberships include the National Center for Employee Ownership, The ESOP Association, The Florida Bar and the State Bar of Georgia.

• Experience

Ms. Camp’s representative matters include defending plan sponsors and fiduciaries in ERISA class actions and enforcement matters involving forfeiture reallocation, alleged prohibited transactions, imprudent investment selection, and excessive fee claims related to recordkeeping and managed accounts. She has also defended DOL enforcement actions and class litigation involving ESOP stock sales, plan terminations tied to private equity transactions, and a multiemployer plan dispute concerning approximately $115 million in proprietary fund investments and fee arrangements. In addition, she secured dismissal with prejudice of a nationwide COBRA notice class action supported by a first-of-its-kind DOL amicus brief and obtained a defense jury verdict in ERISA and securities litigation brought by a former CFO, which the Eleventh Circuit affirmed.

Monica I. Perkowski, Associate | Holland & Knight LLP

Ms. Perkowski is a trial attorney and a member of Holland & Knight’s ERISA Litigation Team. Monica has substantial experience in all aspects of complex litigation, including ERISA class actions. She regularly defends companies and fiduciaries in ERISA litigation throughout the country.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Perkowski earned her J.D., summa cum laude, from Temple University Beasley School of Law and her B.A. from Duke University. She is admitted to practice in Georgia, New York and Pennsylvania. Her court admissions include the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Third, Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and all state courts in Georgia, New York and Pennsylvania. She served on the Temple Law Review from 2016 to 2017 and speaks Polish.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Perkowski is a member of Holland & Knight’s Chambers-recognized ERISA Litigation Team. During law school, she participated in the Jessup International Moot Court Society at Temple University Beasley School of Law from 2016 to 2017.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Perkowski participates in the DRI Life, Health and Disability/ERISA Committee and the American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Employee Benefits General Committee, both for 2026. She is also involved with The ESOP Association for 2025–2026 and the Atlanta Bar Association. She regularly speaks and writes on ERISA litigation trends.

• Experience

Ms. Perkowski defends companies and fiduciaries in complex ERISA litigation, including DOL enforcement actions involving ESOP formation and stock sales, as well as class actions alleging fiduciary breaches, imprudent investments, excessive fees, forfeiture reallocations, and wellness program violations under ERISA Section 702. She has secured summary judgment in pension benefit denial litigation and has handled ESOP termination disputes and appellate matters in the Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits addressing arbitration provisions in benefit plans. Outside ERISA, she has worked on product liability and mass tort matters for pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients, including opioid multidistrict litigation and litigation involving a permanent birth control device, and has managed key litigation tasks such as expert development, witness preparation, depositions, and dispositive motion practice.

SESSION 1 – How Voluntary Benefits Fall Into ERISA: The Safe Harbor, the Endorsement Trap, and the New Fiduciary Suits | 1:00pm – 2:00pm

This session will provide an in-depth analysis of a recent wave of ERISA class actions regarding voluntary benefits programs and fiduciary liability. The Panel will discuss recent ERISA class actions challenging voluntary benefits, safe harbors, and risk mitigation strategies for plan sponsors, brokers, and consultants.

BREAK | 2:00pm – 2:10pm

SESSION 2 – Building the ERISA Fiduciary Record: Governance, Oversight, and Defense Strategies for Voluntary Benefits | 2:10pm – 3:10pm

This session moves beyond the threshold question of whether a voluntary benefit arrangement is subject to ERISA and the theories plaintiffs are asserting. It focuses on the fiduciary governance and evidentiary record that employers, plan fiduciaries, brokers, and benefits consultants should develop when administering voluntary benefit programs. Attorneys will examine how to structure decision-making processes, document fiduciary review, establish appropriate oversight procedures, and address potential concerns before they become litigation issues. The session will also address how the record created during plan administration can affect the defense of later fiduciary claims.