Overview

Sarah Bryan Fask maintains a nationwide practice focusing on Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) litigation. 

Sarah has successfully defended against claims in federal courts across the country alleging breach of fiduciary duty and an improper denial of disability, medical or severance benefits. Over the course of her career, she has secured favorable summary judgment verdicts in multiple cases while bringing many others to successful settlements. She also litigates ERISA preemption issues (both offensively and defensively) and enforces ERISA plan subrogation and reimbursement rights.

Sarah also regularly counsels and represents employers with issues involving the interplay between collective bargaining, multiemployer pension plan obligations and withdrawal liability. Sarah helps businesses understand withdrawal liability estimates and assessments, and represents businesses through any necessary request for review, arbitration, and any settlement negotiations. She has extensive experience defending against allegations of successorship, evade or avoid transactions, and the construction industry exemption.

Sarah is leading resource in pension reform efforts and the multiemployer provisions of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, specifically. Sarah helps employers strategize regarding the impact of multiemployer pension reform on their business.

She advises buyers and sellers on the implications of multiemployer plans and withdrawal liability in transactions. Sarah works closely with corporate deal counsel to perfect ERISA Section 4204 provisions in asset sales and submit applications to funds for a waiver of the bond requirements in qualifying transactions.

Finally, Sarah also represents employers in disputes with funds regarding the scope of the contribution obligation. She prides herself on developing common-sense economical solutions, while recognizing the long-term implications of audit dispute resolutions for employers.

In addition to her ERISA litigation practice, Sarah counsels and defends claims of discrimination, harassment and retaliation arising under:

  • Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
  • The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
  • The Family and Medical Leave Act (FLMA)
  • The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act
  • The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
  • The Philadelphia Fair Employment Practices Ordinance

Sarah works with in-house counsel and human resources professionals to implement best practices, effectively address employee concerns and avoid unnecessary litigation.

If litigation is unavoidable, she draws on her years of experience in federal courts, well as before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. When litigating, Sarah ensures that all strategy decisions are made with the clients’ goals for the litigation front and center.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Vice-Chair

Newsletter Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section

American Bar Association

Liaison

Young Lawyers Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section

American Bar Association

Chair

Outreach to Young Lawyers Committee, Labor and Employment Law Section

American Bar Association

Fomer Co-Chair

Young Lawyers Division, Labor and Employment Law Committee

American Bar Association

Former Development Fellow

Labor and Employment Law Section

American Bar Association

Former Law Student Division Liaison

Council of the Section of Labor and Employment Law

Former Member

Law Student Outreach Committee

Recognition

Named, Rising Star in Employment Litigation

Pennsylvania

Super Lawyers

2016-2018, 2022

Recipient, Professional Excellence Award for Lawyers on the Fast Track

Legal Intelligencer

2019

News, Analysis & Press

The 7 Biggest Benefits Rulings Of 2022

Law360

December 16, 2022

PBGC Looks To Clarify Withdrawal Liability Methodology

Law360

October 13, 2022

Court Says Pension Withdrawal Liability Can’t Be Decelerated

Chief Investment Officer

September 23, 2019

ERISA: What Employment Lawyers Need to Know

Labor and Employment Law

Section of Labor and Employment Law – American Bar Association, Vol. 46, No. 3

Spring 2018

Sweeping Changes Made to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 37

American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division Labor and Employment Law Committee Newsletter

Winter 2016

Equal Work for Equal Pay: 50 Years After the Equal Pay Act

Labor and Employment Law

Section of Labor and Employment Law – American Bar Association, Vol. 42, No. 2

Winter 2014

Recent Decision Provides Roadmap for Remedying Late CAFA Notices

Bloomberg BNA Class Action Litigation Report

May 10, 2013

Vance v. Ball State: Narrowing the Definition of “Supervisors”

Labor and Employment Law

Section of Labor and Employment Law – American Bar Association, Vol. 41, No. 3

Spring 2013

Reviewing the 2011-12 Supreme Court Term

Labor and Employment Law

Section of Labor and Employment Law - American Bar Association, Vol. 41, No. 1

Fall 2012

The Fair Credit Reporting Act: An Overview of the Act’s Requirements for Employers

201 Practice Series

Young Lawyers Division - American Bar Association

2012

Dog Fighting, Sex, and Drugs: How Sports Leagues React to Misconduct Off the Field

Labor and Employment Law

Section of Labor and Employment Law - American Bar Association

Winter 2011

New Lawyer Notes: The Fundamentals of Independent Contractors

Labor and Employment Law

Section of Labor and Employment Law - American Bar Association, Vol. 40, No. 1

2011

Nursing Mothers in the Workplace: A New Amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act

New Jersey Labor and Employment Law Quarterly

Vol. 32, No. 2

November 2010

The Fundamentals of Independent Contractors

101 Practice Series

Young Lawyers Division - American Bar Association

2010

Anti-Doping Regulation in Professional and Olympic Sports

Labor and Employment Law

Vol. 38, No 2

Winter 2010

Workplace Violence: A Primer

101 Practice Series

Young Lawyers Division - American Bar Association

2009

Beware Those Bearing Gifts: Physicians' Fiduciary Duty to Avoid Pharmaceutical Marketing

University of Kansas Law Review

Vol. 57, No. 3, (reprinted in The Defense Law Journal, February 2010)

2009

Eliminate Micro-Abuses to Retain Women and Minorities

Labor and Employment Law

Vol. 31, No. 1

Fall 2008

Speaking Engagements

What Employment Lawyers Need to Know About ERISA Litigation

Pennsylvania Bar Institute

April 19, 2023

Multiemployer Contributing Employer Forum

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

April 18, 2023

Proposed Regulation: Actuarial Assumptions for Determining an Employer’s Withdrawal Liability

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

October 21, 2022

Using Litigation to Clarify the Legal Status of ERISA Plans' Coverage of Abortion Services and Related Travel

July 14, 2022

Multiemployer Plans in Corporate Transactions

2022 Employee Benefits and Mergers and Acquisitions National Institute - American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits

May 24, 2022

ARPA Relief for Multiemployer Funds: PBGC Weighs in on Its Interim Final Rule

American Bar Association Webinar

September 14, 2021

What Employers Need to Know About the PBGC’s Interim Final Rule About the Special Financial Assistance Program

July 19, 2021

Special Financial Assistance Interim Final Regulations: The Employer’s Perspective

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

July 12, 2021

Multiemployer Plans in Corporate Transactions

American Bar Association Webinar

May 7, 2021

Multiemployer Pension Relief: How the COVID-19 Relief Bill Impacts Employers

March 16, 2021

Handling Witnesses and Opposing Counsel During Depositions

14th Annual Labor and Employment Law Conference

November 5, 2020

This Zoom Proceeding is Now in Session: An In-house Counsel’s Guide to Virtual Employment Litigation

ACC Virtual Employment & Labor CLE Institute

September 10, 2020

How to Prepare and Win and/or Defend a Single Plaintiff Discrimination Suit: Top 20 Tips

ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law 11th Annual Conference

November 2017

Conducting an Effective Internal Workplace Investigation

ABA Young Lawyers’ Division Spring Conference

May 2016

Criminal Background Checks in Employment

Committee of Labor and Employment Law, Young Lawyers’ Division – American Bar Association

May 2012

Independent Contractors v. Employees

Committee of Labor and Employment Law, Young Lawyers’ Division – American Bar Association

January 2011

The Nuts and Bolts of Employment Law

Burlington County Bar Association

October 2010

Bill for Downsizing: The Dos and Don’ts of Reductions-in-Force

Burlington County Bar Association

February 2010

Education

  • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2009
  • B.A., Swarthmore College, 2005With Honors

Languages

  • French

Bar Admission

Pennsylvania
New Jersey

Courts

  • U.S. Supreme Court
  • Pennsylvania Supreme Court
  • New Jersey Supreme Court
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 5th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 7th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit
  • U.S. Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit
  • U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
  • U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois