Labor Department Says Court’s ‘Unique’ ERISA Rule Lacks Basis

The Labor Department urged a federal appeals court to disavow its practice of imposing “unique” barriers on benefit plan participants bringing fiduciary breach claims over plan management.

The US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit “stands increasingly alone” in requiring workers to first exhaust their benefit plan’s internal appeals process before filing fiduciary breach claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the department said in a Wednesday amicus brief. This practice, which has been rejected by at least seven other circuits, “has no basis in ERISA’s text, its purposes, or sound policy,” the department said.

Workers seeking ...