Partner
Julia Vander Weele practices in the areas of employer health and welfare plans and retirement plans. She helps employers and other benefit plan sponsors comply with a broad range of legal requirements, including the Tax Code and labor laws, allowing them to recruit and retain talented employees with competitive tax-favored benefit packages while shielding their directors and officers from personal liability.
She also advises clients on laws applicable to other employee benefit plans and programs, including health care reform and ERISA.
Highlights of Julia Vander Weele’s experience include:
- Assisting self-funded health plan sponsors with comprehensive HIPAA privacy and security compliance, including drafting policies and procedures, drafting notices of privacy practices, and conducting training.
- Advising 401(k) plan sponsors on plan governance and fiduciary issues, including analyzing fee arrangements, negotiating recordkeeping agreements, and drafting investment policy statements.
- Helping employers analyze their options under the ACA’s “play-or-pay” rules, pointing to ways in which they can avoid having to offer expensive health coverage to additional employees or pay onerous penalties.
Publications and Presentations
- “Now What? Evaluating the Risks and Options for Group Health Plan Sponsors After Dobbs,” Co-Presenter, August 2022
- “Kansas City-Area Lawyers Say Rapid Change in Abortion Law Raises Risks For Employers,” Quoted, Kansas City Business Journal, July 2022
- “Supreme Court Issues Vaccination Mandate Decisions: Where We Stand Today,” Quoted, BenefitsPro, January 2022
- “Still Plenty to Consider for COVID-Related Benefit Mandates,” Author, BenefitsPro, January 2022
- “KC Lawyer Tackles Tricky Compliance Questions on Covid Benefits,” Quoted, Kansas City Business Journal, January 2022
- “Employer Health Plans Soon Must Pay for At-Home COVID-19 Tests,” Quoted, SHRM, December 2021
- “Spencer Fane Names Vander Weele as New KC Managing Partner,” Quoted, Kansas City Business Journal, December 2020
Memberships
- Kansas Bar Association
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association
- Northland Regional Chamber of Commerce
Distinctions
- The Best Lawyers in America, 2016-2022
- The Best Lawyers in America, Women in the Law, Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law, 2016
Contact Julia Vander Weele at 816.292.8182 or jvanderweele@spencerfane.com.