DOL Overhauls Enforcement Priorities for Employee Benefits Plans

Cybersecurity and mental health top the US Department of Labor’s national enforcement priorities for employee benefit plans, according to a list the DOL published Thursday.

The changes to the list of national enforcement projects are the first under Employee Benefits Security Administration head Daniel Aronowitz, a former insurance executive who has criticized the agency over its attitude toward litigation targeting employers. DOL said the new priorities represent an “even-handed, responsive approach” to enforcement.

“EBSA’s enforcement powers are broad and impact American workers, retirees, and their families through many stages of life. Because of that, it’s vitally important that our investigators focus on areas that we feel will produce the best results,” Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling said in a statement.

“By recalibrating the areas our investigators focus on, EBSA investigations will be more efficient, responsive, and prioritize serious misconduct rather than minor foot faults,” Sonderling said.

The department removed Employee Stock Ownership Plans from its enforcement agenda, signaling it will reduce litigation over valuation of employee-owned companies. EBSA enforcement in this area has drawn criticism from employer groups and Aronowitz himself.

EBSA also pointed to the establishment of the Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database,
which it said has decreased its focus on tracking down plan participants who have left retirement dollars behind in old employers’ plans.

DOL said it would prioritize cases related to:

• Cybersecurity;
• Barriers to mental health and substance use disorder benefits;
• Protecting benefit distributions;
• Retirement asset management;
• Surprise billing; and
• Criminal abuse of contributory benefit plans.

The department also said it would continue investigating abuses in multi-employer welfare arrangements.