Feds Mull Joining Suit Over California’s Auto-Retirement Plan

The federal government is considering whether to jump into a lawsuit challenging California’s retirement program for workers who don’t have access to employer-sponsored benefits.

The government may join the litigation to give its opinion on whether the California program is preempted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, Department of Justice attorneys said in an Aug. 2 notice. They asked the court to put the case on hold while the government decides whether to participate—a process that takes several weeks and requires coordination among multiple agencies and approval from a top DOJ official, the attorneys said.

The lawsuit, ...