Labor Department Authority to Subpoena Benefits Providers Upheld

Benefits administrator Alight Solutions LLC lost its appeal challenging a Labor Department subpoena seeking information about alleged cybersecurity breaches, when the Seventh Circuit ruled the department has authority under ERISA to investigate parties that aren’t plan fiduciaries.

The department’s authority to issue subpoenas while investigating potential violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act doesn’t turn on whether the entity being subpoenaed is a plan fiduciary under the statute, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled. ERISA authorizes the department to investigate whether “any person” has violated “any provision” of the statute or ...