Danita N.Merlau
Partner
Employee Benefits
dmerlau@seyfarth.com
Danita advises employers on designing and maintaining compensation and benefit arrangements that align with strategic business goals and achieve desired operational outcomes.
More About Danita
Sophisticated employers turn to Danita for practical, business‑minded legal solutions to attract, retain, and reward talent. She partners with clients to develop compensation and benefit programs tailored to their workforce. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating executive agreements and broad‑based employee benefit plans. She advises on bespoke employee separation arrangements and post‑termination obligations.
With broad experience advising companies on all aspects of health and welfare plans, Danita helps clients understand the complex statutory and regulatory regime governing employee benefits, interpreting and applying technical regulations and agency guidance to assist clients in making sound decisions against an ever-shifting legal landscape. Specifically, Danita counsels clients on plan formation and design, provides compliance and implementation advice, negotiates key contracts with vendors and third-party administrators, and troubleshoots benefits issues as they arise for her clients. Danita frequently engages with the Department of Labor and IRS on behalf of employers and plan fiduciaries and assists with significant corporate and plan spinoff and merger transactions.
Danita is co-chair of the Employee Benefits department’s Health and Welfare POD (i.e., practice group) for which she closely tracks statutory, regulatory, and judicial developments in this space.
With broad experience advising companies on all aspects of health and welfare plans, Danita helps clients understand the complex statutory and regulatory regime governing employee benefits, interpreting and applying technical regulations and agency guidance to assist clients in making sound decisions against an ever-shifting legal landscape. Specifically, Danita counsels clients on plan formation and design, provides compliance and implementation advice, negotiates key contracts with vendors and third-party administrators, and troubleshoots benefits issues as they arise for her clients. Danita frequently engages with the Department of Labor and IRS on behalf of employers and plan fiduciaries and assists with significant corporate and plan spinoff and merger transactions.
Danita is co-chair of the Employee Benefits department’s Health and Welfare POD (i.e., practice group) for which she closely tracks statutory, regulatory, and judicial developments in this space.
- JD, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Cum laude
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, executive editor - BA, Purdue University
With honors
Certifications
- Certified Health Care Institute (HCI) professional, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2022)
- Illinois
Related Services
Related Key Industries
Blogs
Related News & Insights
-
Recognition
08/21/2025
231 Seyfarth Lawyers Selected as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2026; 8 Seyfarth Attorneys Honored as “Lawyer of the Year” in Their Practices
-
Media Mentions
Jul 14, 2022
Danita Merlau and Benjamin Conley quoted in HR Dive, “Could HRAs solve employers’ abortion-access benefits headaches?”
-
Webinar Recording
Jul 13, 2022
Post-Dobbs Implications for Employers and Employer Plan Sponsors
-
Attorney Publication
May 20, 2022
Danita Merlau and Ben Conley co-authored an article in Law360, “Employer Travel Benefits Options For Abortion Care Post-Roe”
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2026)
- American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law and Taxation sections; Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
-
The Chicago Bar Association, Employee Benefits
- Co-Author, "If You Can Find an At-Home COVID-19 Test, Your Plan Must Now Pay For It," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 11, 2022)
- Co-Author, "How COBRA Got Her Groove Back: Old Law Gets New Focus From DOL, Class Action Plaintiffs’ Attorneys," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 15, 2020)
- Co-Author, "Businesses Seek to Provide Abortion Travel Benefits in Light of Potential Supreme Court Decision," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 5, 2022)
- Co-Author, "Relief Provided for 2018 Family HSA Contribution Limit," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 3, 2018)
- Co-Author, "EEOC Issues Final Rules On Wellness Programs," Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 18, 2016)
- Co-Author, "Issue 97: Another Holiday Gift - ACA Reporting Deadlines Extended!," Health Care Reform Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 29, 2015)
- Co-Presenter, "Post-Dobbs Implications for Employers and Employer Plan Sponsors," Webinar, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 13, 2022)
Danita advises employers on designing and maintaining compensation and benefit arrangements that align with strategic business goals and achieve desired operational outcomes.
More About Danita
Sophisticated employers turn to Danita for practical, business‑minded legal solutions to attract, retain, and reward talent. She partners with clients to develop compensation and benefit programs tailored to their workforce. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating executive agreements and broad‑based employee benefit plans. She advises on bespoke employee separation arrangements and post‑termination obligations.
With broad experience advising companies on all aspects of health and welfare plans, Danita helps clients understand the complex statutory and regulatory regime governing employee benefits, interpreting and applying technical regulations and agency guidance to assist clients in making sound decisions against an ever-shifting legal landscape. Specifically, Danita counsels clients on plan formation and design, provides compliance and implementation advice, negotiates key contracts with vendors and third-party administrators, and troubleshoots benefits issues as they arise for her clients. Danita frequently engages with the Department of Labor and IRS on behalf of employers and plan fiduciaries and assists with significant corporate and plan spinoff and merger transactions.
Danita is co-chair of the Employee Benefits department’s Health and Welfare POD (i.e., practice group) for which she closely tracks statutory, regulatory, and judicial developments in this space.
With broad experience advising companies on all aspects of health and welfare plans, Danita helps clients understand the complex statutory and regulatory regime governing employee benefits, interpreting and applying technical regulations and agency guidance to assist clients in making sound decisions against an ever-shifting legal landscape. Specifically, Danita counsels clients on plan formation and design, provides compliance and implementation advice, negotiates key contracts with vendors and third-party administrators, and troubleshoots benefits issues as they arise for her clients. Danita frequently engages with the Department of Labor and IRS on behalf of employers and plan fiduciaries and assists with significant corporate and plan spinoff and merger transactions.
Danita is co-chair of the Employee Benefits department’s Health and Welfare POD (i.e., practice group) for which she closely tracks statutory, regulatory, and judicial developments in this space.
- JD, Indiana University Maurer School of Law
Cum laude
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, executive editor - BA, Purdue University
With honors
Certifications
- Certified Health Care Institute (HCI) professional, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (2022)
- Illinois
Related Services
Related Key Industries
Blogs
Related News & Insights
-
Recognition
08/21/2025
231 Seyfarth Lawyers Selected as Leaders in Their Fields by Best Lawyers in America 2026; 8 Seyfarth Attorneys Honored as “Lawyer of the Year” in Their Practices
-
Media Mentions
Jul 14, 2022
Danita Merlau and Benjamin Conley quoted in HR Dive, “Could HRAs solve employers’ abortion-access benefits headaches?”
-
Webinar Recording
Jul 13, 2022
Post-Dobbs Implications for Employers and Employer Plan Sponsors
-
Attorney Publication
May 20, 2022
Danita Merlau and Ben Conley co-authored an article in Law360, “Employer Travel Benefits Options For Abortion Care Post-Roe”
- Listed in Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White Inc.) for Employee Benefits (ERISA) Law (2026)
- American Bar Association, Labor & Employment Law and Taxation sections; Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
-
The Chicago Bar Association, Employee Benefits
- Co-Author, "If You Can Find an At-Home COVID-19 Test, Your Plan Must Now Pay For It," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (January 11, 2022)
- Co-Author, "How COBRA Got Her Groove Back: Old Law Gets New Focus From DOL, Class Action Plaintiffs’ Attorneys," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 15, 2020)
- Co-Author, "Businesses Seek to Provide Abortion Travel Benefits in Light of Potential Supreme Court Decision," Legal Update, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 5, 2022)
- Co-Author, "Relief Provided for 2018 Family HSA Contribution Limit," One Minute Memo, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 3, 2018)
- Co-Author, "EEOC Issues Final Rules On Wellness Programs," Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (May 18, 2016)
- Co-Author, "Issue 97: Another Holiday Gift - ACA Reporting Deadlines Extended!," Health Care Reform Management Alert, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (December 29, 2015)
- Co-Presenter, "Post-Dobbs Implications for Employers and Employer Plan Sponsors," Webinar, Seyfarth Shaw LLP (July 13, 2022)