Labor Dept. Supports Retiree Committee for Sears Bankruptcy

The Labor Department is backing retired Sears employees’ effort to form an official committee that would represent their interests as the bankrupt retail giant plans to eliminate life insurance benefits.

Sears Holdings Corp., the retailer’s parent, will unilaterally terminate their insurance plan without the committee’s pushback, the DOL said in a June 14 statement filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy court for the Southern District of New York.

“A failure to establish a retiree committee would constitute an unwarranted failure to respect Congress’s decision to ensure that the rights of retirees are not unfairly ignored,” the DOL said.

Sears objected June ...