Only 3% of U.S. employers currently offer student loan assistance to their employees, but a Chicago-based virtual consumer law firm has announced that it will begin offering its 100+ employees company-sponsored contributions to pay off student loan debt.
Two-thirds of the employees at UpRight Law at burdened with student loan debt. And according to UpRight Law’s CEO Ed Scanlan, offering this assistance to its employees is a natural extension of UpRight’s mission. “Our employees partner with us to provide freedom to people struggling with insurmountable debt by improving access to justice,” Scanlan said. “We want to help them achieve that same freedom.”
At the same time, the benefit will help UpRight recruit and retain the type of talented, dedicated employees the firm needs to fuel its growth and continue expanding access to justice. Scanlan believes that the repayment assistance plan will allow graduates of many colleges in the region who start their careers with UpRight to eliminate student debt before the age of 30.
The employee benefit program will be administered through a partnership with Peanut Butter, a technology firm that facilitates company-sponsored contributions to employee student loan repayment. “Partnering with Peanut Butter has made the administration and roll out of the benefit a realistic thing for us to do without creating an administrative burden on our HR team,” Scanlan said.
“UpRight Law is changing the legal industry and now offers one more strong reason why it’s attractive to build your career as a part of their team,” said David Aronson, CEO of Peanut Butter. “We’re thrilled to support UpRight as the company helps employees become debt free”.
UpRight Law is known for its innovative solutions, including its dedication to “bringing the law office to the living room” for the many Americans whose access to legal assistance is limited by various barriers, including geography, work schedules and childcare. In its efforts for both clients and employees, UpRight hopes to clear a path that will lead to broader participation and more innovative solutions in many sectors.
While Scanlan believes that UpRight will be among the first of many companies offering this benefit, current law doesn’t favor this much-needed assistance. U.S. Congressman Robert Dold (IL-10) hopes to change that.
On May 2, 2016, with Scanlan and a handful of others leaders on this issue at his side, Dold announced new legislation that would empower employers to take a more active role in addressing the student debt crisis.
“Sadly, there are students in our community—as young as elementary school—who now believe that because their families don’t have the means to pay, they will never be able to go to college regardless of how hard they work. These are bright, hardworking students who have given up because they believe they’ll just never be able to afford to go to college. That’s unacceptable and must change,” Rep. Dold said. “As the son of a schoolteacher, I’ve always believed that a quality education should be within reach for everybody, regardless of zip code or income. That’s why we’re introducing new legislation, called the HELP for Students and Parents Act, to reduce the burden of student loans and help families pay for college.”
The HELP (Higher Education Loan Payments) for Students and Parents Act would exclude employer contributions to student loan repayment from an employee’s taxable income. The bill also includes tax credits for employers based on their contributions.
