RADNOR, PA ‒ The U.S. Department of Labor announced a settlement with the Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. that requires the company to change its evidence of insurability requirement – commonly known as proof of good health –for participants in job-based life insurance plans.

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a settlement with Unum Life Insurance Co. of America that requires the Portland, Maine-based insurer to change how it administers its proof of good health requirement — referred to as evidence of insurability — for participants in job-based life insurance plans.  

WASHINGTON –The Department of Labor today announced its Employee Benefits Security Administration will publish interim final rules and an amendment to a prohibited transaction class exemption that better protect workers’ hard-earned retirement savings by making it easier for Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees to distribute assets from bankrupt companies’ retirement plans. 

CHICAGO –The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal consent order and judgment requiring three service providers of the United Employee Benefit Fund a Chicago-based multiple employer welfare arrangement, to restore $883,333 to the fund and pay $176,666 in penalties for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The Department of Labor today announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a final rule that will reinforce critical healthcare protections for consumers in plans offered by small employers or available for purchase on the individual market.

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris administration announced today that the U.S. Department of Labor has finalized its Retirement Security Rule to protect the millions of workers who are saving for retirement diligently and rely on advice from trusted professionals on how to invest their savings.

Date of action:           April 15, 2024

Type of action:          Consent judgment and order  

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration is proposing to collect information from plan administrators on a voluntarily basis to establish an online search tool to help America’s workers locate lost retirement savings they earned. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. have jointly extended the comment period soliciting public input on existing reporting and disclosure requirements for retirement plans. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration has released a final amendment to Class Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14, also known as the Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption, which permits various parties related to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts to engage in transactions involving plan and IRA assets.

Date of action:           Feb. 1, 2024

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the appointment of five members and leadership for the 2024 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council.

The 15-member council provides advice on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

Date of Action:          Feb. 28, 2024

Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act default judgment

Company/Owners:    Elmhurst Academy of Early Learning Inc.

Date of action:           Feb. 7, 2024

Type of action:          Motion for default judgment granted  by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on June 15, 2023.

Date of action:           Feb. 8, 2024

Type of action:          Motion for default judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor in November 2022.

GREENBELT, MD – The U.S. Department of Labor today filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern Division of the District of Maryland against a company that allegedly mismanaged fringe benefits owed to employees working for at least 54 government service contractors across the United States. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today published an overview of its enforcement activities in fiscal year 2023 in a new fact sheet. 

Date of action: February 5, 2024

Type of action: An emergency temporary restraining order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on January 26, 2024.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment against Paul G. Fillet DMD Inc. and Dr. Paul G. Fillet for having unlawfully withdrawn more than $85,000 of employees’ retirement money from an employer-sponsored plan and abandoned the plan, preventing two participants from accessing roughly $160,000 in retirement savings.

MILTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment and order in federal court requiring the trustees of coal producer Blackjewel LLC’s 401(k) plan to pay $637,014 in equitable restitution after an investigation found they violated fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.