Michael Bartolic
Law Offices of Michael Bartolic, LLC
Mr. Bartolic advises executives and other professionals regarding executive compensation and benefits, and represents them in all ERISA litigation. His practice is devoted exclusively to representing individuals such as executives and directors, managers, brokers, traders, investment advisors, attorneys, physicians, and educators. He helps the professionals obtain and protect the compensation and benefits they have earned through initial negotiation of compensation and benefits, internal administrative claims and appeals, and federal litigation if necessary.
Mr. Bartolic also consults other attorneys on matters involving the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). His practice includes advising: personal injury and workers compensation lawyers regarding rights of participants and beneficiaries facing subrogation and reimbursement claims by plans; labor lawyers regarding matters of mixed labor and ERISA law; and domestic relations lawyers regarding rights under defined benefit plans ,supplemental executive retirement plan (“top hat plans”), and other executive compensation.
Mr. Bartolic is actively involved in the American Bar Association Section of Labor and Employment Law Employee Benefits Committee, the Section of Taxation Employee Benefits Committee, and has recently been appointed to the Illinois State Bar Association’s Section Council on Employee Benefits. He has served as a teaching assistant of a graduate level employee benefits law course at the John Marshall Law School.
- Employment Law
- Employee Benefits, Employment Contracts, Employment Discrimination, ERISA, Overtime & Unpaid Wages, Sexual Harassment, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination
- Insurance Claims
- Bad Faith Insurance, Business Insurance, Disability Insurance, Health Insurance, Life Insurance, Motor Vehicle Insurance, Property Insurance
- Social Security Disability
- Zoom
- Microsoft Teams
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Free Consultation
Initial telephone consultations are complimentary. Thereafter, if your case is eligible for further review, we charge a small fee for an in-person consultation, not to exceed one hour at our rates, so that if the consultation runs longer than one hour, you only pay for one hour. -
Contingent Fees
We evaluate each case for eligibility for contingency-fee representation. -
Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
We offer hybrid billing models, with varying levels of reduced rates coupled with a lower percentage of the recovery.
- Illinois
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- Serbo-Croatian: Spoken, Written
- The John Marshall Law School
- J.D.
- Honors: magna cum laude
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- University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
- B.S. | Accounting
- Honors: with honors
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- Illinois State Bar
- Member
- Current
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- American Bar Association
- Member
- Current
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- Chicago Bar Association
- Member
- Current
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- Seventh Circuit Bar Association
- Member
- Current
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- ABA Section of Labor & Employment Employee Benefits Committee
- Employee Benefits Committee
- Current
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- ABA Section of Taxation
- Employee Benefits Committee
- Current
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- Illinois State Bar Association
- Section Council Member on Employee Benefits
- Current
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- Chicago Bar Association
- Employee Benefits Committee
- Current
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- Q. Can you get your Indiana Carpenters Annuity Fund (not pension), during hard times? We are about to lose our house!
- A: While the Internal Revenue Code does permit, in order to maintain tax-qualified status, some plans to allow for certain hardship distributions (e.g., 401(k) plans), it is unusual for a defined benefit or annuity-type plan to provide for such distributions. If this plan so provides, whether or not you can take the hardship distribution depends on whether you meet the plan's definition of "hardship." Plans are not required to offer hardship withdrawals, but if they do the plan can be more restrictive about what is a "hardship" than otherwise permitted under the Tax Code.
- Q. Workers' Compensation Insurance -deduction from paycheck.
- A: I did a brief amount of research, and according to some consultants, yes, the action is likely lawful. If you do not carry your own Worker's Comp insurance, the employer may treat you as a direct employee for purposes of the Worker's Comp insurance.
- Q. My Employer terminated my Health Insurance/Related Benefits after I returned from an unpaid FMLA.
- A: Generally, while on FMLA leave, an employee will either have to continue making insurance premium payments by check, or will retroactively pay the premiums for the period of FMLA leave upon return. It sounds like upon your return, only prospective premium payments began being deducted again. Re-review any election forms your employer provided you and confirm how you elected to continue coverage. It sounds as if your employer is now enforcing salary withholding to pay the past due premiums.
