Labor Leaders Request DOL Inspector General Investigate Chavez DeRemer for Not Complying with ERISA

Labor Leaders Request DOL Inspector General Investigate Chavez DeRemer for Not Complying with ERISA

WASHINGTON - Today, House labor leaders requested the Department of Labor's (DOL) Inspector General (IG) to investigate DOL Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer for failing to comply with certain requirements of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Specifically, the Members are asking the IG to investigate the Secretary's compliance with the legal requirements surrounding the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefits (ERISA Advisory Council).

The request was sent by Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

For five decades, the ERISA Advisory Council has provided critical expertise and recommendations to the Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, which is charged with protecting the health care, disability, and retirement benefits of more than 155 million workers, retirees, and their families. The Advisory Council's latest contributions included a series of public meetings discussing retirement investment options and consumers' rights to appeal wrongful denials of benefits by health plans and insurance companies.

"Media reports have suggested that the Council was placed 'on ice' early last year, and the Secretary subsequently failed to convene the body for any of its four statutorily required meetings throughout the remainder of 2025," said the Members. "Despite the clear mandate from Congress, the Council has seemingly not been permitted to hold a public meeting since 2024 and reportedly 'has no plans to convene in 2026'; the Secretary has apparently failed to provide an Executive Secretary to the Council; and the Secretary has not appointed any new Members to the Council, even as the terms of a third of its members have expired."

DOL also removed numerous records from its website pertaining to the Council's activities in 2024, including Issue Statements and Witness Statements. Following a request for information from Scott and DeSaulnier to the Secretary on the status of these documents, the documents were reposted to the DOL's website, although no explanation was provided as to why they were deleted and whether any records were altered in this process.

To read the full letter to the Department of Labor's Inspector General, click here.

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