Bob Ellerbrock focuses his practice on employee benefits and ERISA. He regularly advises clients concerning qualified retirement plans (401(k), defined benefit, 403(b)), non-qualified plans, fringe benefits, health and welfare benefits, Affordable Care Act compliance, and executive compensation issues. With experience in the retirement plan industry prior to practicing law, Bob draws on his knowledge counseling clients in the design and implementation of all types of employee benefit plans.
Robert S. Ellerbrock, III
Of Counsel || Birmingham
- Design and evaluation of 401(k) and 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, employee stock ownership plans, and other retirement plans including monitoring plans for ongoing regulatory compliance.
- Advise companies and individuals on the tax and corporate aspects of incentive 409A arrangements, including supplemental executive retirement plans, performance-based programs, and non-qualified deferred compensation arrangements.
- Successfully resolve issues for clients with the Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor, and Pension and Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
- Draft benefit plan documents and amendments to ensure ongoing regulatory compliance with applicable regulations.
- Counsel plan fiduciaries on their ERISA Title I responsibilities.
- Regularly advise employers, consultants, and others regarding the Affordable Care Act.
- Advise clients involved in mergers and acquisitions regarding the responsibilities of the employers and the rights of the employees.
- Counsel employers involved in various labor and employment matters, including withdrawal liability/multiple and multiemployer pension plans, employee benefit aspects of collective bargaining, employment and compensation agreements, separation agreements, COBRA, and severance packages.
Education
- LL.M., University of Alabama School of Law, 2007
- J.D., University of Alabama School of Law, 2002
- B.A., Webster University, 1999
Admittance to Practice
- Alabama
Professional Activities
- Birmingham Bar Association
- Alabama State Bar
Speeches
- Alabama Bar Association, Labor and Employment Section - "’Leave’ My Benefits Alone: Managing Benefits of Employees on Leave" - Sandestin - November 26, 2018
- Mobile Society for Human Resource Management - "’Leave’ My Benefits Alone: Managing Benefits of Employees on Leave" - Mobile - November 2, 2018
- Annual Business Seminar - "There’s No Such Thing as a 1099 Employee" - Birmingham - August 10, 2018
- College and University Professional Association for Human Resources Annual Meeting - "Who is the Plan Fiduciary? Is it Me?" - Indianapolis - June 25, 2018
- Ogletree Deakins Annual Gulf Coast Seminar - "'Leave' My Benefits Alone: Managing Benefits of Employees on Leave" - Pensacola - June 15, 2018
- Ogletree Deakins Employee Benefits Roundtable - "So, Just Who is the 'Employer'" - Nashville - May 24, 2018
- Ogletree Deakins Employee Benefits Roundtable - "Who is a Plan Fiduciary? Is it Me?" - Nashville - April 26, 2018
- Society for Human Resource Management - "Who is a Plan Fiduciary? Is it Me?" - Jackson - February 22, 2018
- Delta Human Resource Management Association Chapter Meeting - "Who is a Plan Fiduciary? Is it Me?" - Greenwood - February 15, 2018
- Ogletree Deakins Employee Benefits Roundtable - "Who is a Plan Fiduciary? Is it Me?" - Birmingham - February 1, 2018
- Annual Business Seminar - "Avoiding Employee Benefit Pitfalls" - Denver - October 6, 2017
- Ogletree Deakins Employee Benefits Briefing - "Navigating Open Enrollment" - Birmingham - October 5, 2017
- Annual Business Briefing - "'Leave' My Benefits Alone: Managing Benefits of Employees on Leave" - Birmingham - August 18, 2017
- Annual Business and Personal Planning Seminar - "Employee Benefit Administration" - Birmingham - 2016
- Birmingham Bar Association - "Affordable Care Act" - Birmingham - September 18, 2014
- Birmingham Business Alliance's ACA Seminar - "Fox 6 ACA Roundtable" - Birmingham - March 5, 2014
- Alabama Fiduciary Summit - "Roles and Responsibilities of Retirement Plan Fiduciaries" - Birmingham - 2014
- Birmingham Employee Benefit Professionals - "Profit Sharing Council" - Birmingham - 2014
- November 2018 - HR Professionals Magazine, Vol. 8 Issue 11 - "Heading into 2019, the ACA is Alive and Well"
- October 16, 2018 - 401k Specialist - "How 401ks (Actually) Fit with Student Loan Repayment Programs"
- September 22, 2017 - SHRM Online - "Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Don’t Forget the Possibility of ACA Retaliation Claims"
- June 14, 2016 - JD Supra Business Advisor - "What Community Banks of All Sizes Need to Know About the Proposed lnteragency Rulemaking on Incentive Compensation"
- 2016 - Affordable Care Act Review - "Inside the Minds: Recent Changes in Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation - Contributing Author"
- December 11, 2014 - Employee Benefit News - "Re-examine Definition of "Spouse" in All Plan Documents"
- June 30, 2014 - Law360 - "Corporate Religious Rights in Flux After Hobby Lobby Ruling"
- March 7, 2016 - Decision Resources Group - "“Family Glitch” in ACA"
- March 7, 2016 - Decisions Resource Group - "Defect in the Law"
- December 19, 2014 - Employee Benefit News - "Employee Benefits for Same-Sex Couples"
- June 30, 2014 - Law360 - "Landmark SCOTUS Decision"
- Super Lawyers, Rising Star (2013)
- Top Attorneys, 2014, 2015, and 2017, Birmingham Magazine