Enforcement Manual

Preface

Statement of Purpose • Last Updated: January 2025
Enforcement Manual Maintenance • Last Updated: January 2025
Description of EBSA • Last Updated: January 2025
Acronyms and Abbreviations • Last Updated: January 2025

General Operational Procedures

Forms

Statement of Purpose

Enforcement Manual Maintenance

Background

Since at least 1996, EBSA has had an Enforcement Manual Committee (Committee). The Director of Enforcement is responsible for appointing and overseeing the Committee. The Committee is comprised of national and regional office members (including, but not limited to: Regional Directors, Deputy Regional Directors, Associate Regional Directors, Supervisory Investigators, Investigators, Office of Enforcement staff, and Office of Field Administration staff). The Committee’s co-chairs will be a Senior Enforcement Advisor from the Office of Enforcement and a Deputy Regional Director. EBSA staff can suggest changes to the Enforcement Manual through an e-mail address posted on the EBSA Intranet.

Process

The Enforcement Manual review process is as follows:

The Committee reviews and drafts proposed changes to the Enforcement Manual that impact the investigative process, as needed, but not less than every two years.
The Committee makes recommendations for any changes or updates to the Enforcement Manual to the Director of Enforcement.
Director of Enforcement reviews proposed changes with the Regional Directors (RDs), the Director of Field Administration, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations, as appropriate.
Office of the Solicitor (SOL)/Plan Benefits Security Division (PBSD) reviews and clears proposed changes.
The Director of Enforcement, the Director of Field Administration, and the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations review final changes, as appropriate.

Implementation

Changes to the Enforcement Manual are made electronically. A table describing the changes and dates of changes will be included as an Appendix to the Enforcement Manual. The electronic version annotates by section the date of changes. A memorandum to the field summarizes the changes, as needed, but no less than every two years.

Record Maintenance

The Committee will maintain the following records:

Suggestions for changes.
A redline of all revisions.
A chart of all revisions, reason for the change and date.
Copies of all memorandum memorializing the changes.
HTML and PDF versions.

Description of Employee Benefits Security Administration

EBSA is an agency within the DOL that administers and enforces Title I of ERISA, which establishes fiduciary and other standards for employee benefit plans sponsored by private-sector employers. EBSA is headquartered in Washington, D.C. and is directed by an Assistant Secretary who is appointed by the President and reports directly to the Secretary of Labor.

EBSA’s Office of Enforcement (OE) is responsible for overseeing the enforcement program and managing enforcement policy, and its Division of Investigative Strategies (DIS) is responsible for proposing, initiating, and conducting novel and challenging pilot program investigations. EBSA’s enforcement activities are conducted primarily in field offices located in 13 cities throughout the United States. The field offices employ hundreds of investigators and auditors, all of whom are highly skilled professionals. Many are lawyers or Certified Public Accountants and others have advanced degrees in business and finance.

EBSA shares responsibility with the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation for the administration and enforcement of ERISA. EBSA helps to ensure the integrity and effective management of the private pension and welfare benefit system and protects the rights and financial security of hundreds of millions of employee benefit plan participants and beneficiaries, including workers in such diverse industries as communications, retailing, shipping, insurance, real estate and financial services. EBSA also has jurisdiction over individuals and companies providing services to employee benefit plans, such as investment advisors, trust departments, insurance companies, consultants and others.

EBSA conducts a wide range of enforcement activities, including civil and criminal investigations, to determine whether the provisions of Title I of ERISA and the sections of Title 18, as they relate to employee benefit plans, have been violated.

Acronyms and Abbreviations

Enforcement Manual

Authority and Coordination

Administrative Procedures

Enforcement Programs

Background

Process

Implementation

Record Maintenance