US Department of Labor announces extension of comment period for proposed amendments to its exemption procedures

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that the department is extending the public comment period for proposed amendments to its procedures governing the filing and processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications by an additional 45 days, through May 29, 2022.

The proposed amendments were published in the Federal Register on March 15, 2022. They would update, clarify and supersede the department’s existing procedures, which were published in 2011.

The Proposed Rule contained a thirty-day comment period, which is scheduled to expire on April 14, 2022. After publishing the proposal, the department received multiple letters from interested persons requesting the department extend the comment period by at least thirty days to provide additional time to develop and submit their comments. 

“After carefully considering the extension requests, the department decided that it is appropriate to extend the public comment period to a total of 75 days,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Ali Khawar. “The extended comment period will provide interested parties with a full opportunity to consider the proposal and provide important input that will inform future policy.” 

Read the Comment Period Extension Notice.

The department encourages plan representatives and other interested parties to submit comments on the proposal during the extended public comment period, which ends on May 29, 2022.

Learn more about the Employee Benefits Security Administration and its work to protect employer-sponsored health care and retirement plans.