Regional Director Named To Head Federal Pension Agency In San Francisco

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

SAN FRANCISCO — Bette Briggs has been named regional director of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration in San Francisco, Calif.

As regional director, Briggs heads a staff of 50 investigators, auditors, and pension benefit advisors. She is responsible for overseeing the operations of private- sector pension, health and other benefit plans in the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Northern California, Nevada and Utah.

Briggs will be responsible for enforcing provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), overseeing civil and criminal investigations, providing litigation support and serving as the primary liaison to other federal and state enforcement authorities involved in ERISA investigations. The agency also assists workers in understanding their rights under ERISA and related laws and in obtaining benefits to which they are entitled.

Before taking the San Francisco post, Briggs served for nearly 10 years in the agency’s Office of Regulations and Interpretations in Washington, D.C. While chief of the Fiduciary Interpretations Division in Washington, D.C., she directed a staff of pension law specialists and issued advisory opinions, information letters and regulations interpreting ERISA’s fiduciary responsibility provisions.

She also served as an attorney with the Special Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation division of the Solicitor of Labor. A Wisconsin native, she holds B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.

U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7755.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Contact Name: Deanne Amaden
Phone Number: 415.975.4741