Chairman Cassidy, Banks Introduce Legislation Protecting Louisianans’ Retirement, Cutting Bureaucracy

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Jim Banks (R-IN) introduced the Investigation Status and Governance for Honest Transparency (INSIGHT) Act. Under previous administrations, frivolous Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) investigations of employers providing benefits to American workers needlessly increased liability costs on plan sponsors and often dragged on for years without a clear path to resolution. This ultimately made it harder for employers to provide retirement benefits to workers. The legislation introduces transparency and accountability to the EBSA investigation process, helping assure that enforcement is conducted in a fair and timely manner.

"Louisianans deserve a secure retirement," said Dr. Cassidy. "This important bill makes the Department of Labor more effective in protecting Americans' retirement by increasing transparency, preventing endless investigations, and cutting useless bureaucratic procedures."

"Americans' retirement savings shouldn't get stuck in endless bureaucracy," said Senator Banks. "This bill brings transparency and accountability so plans aren't tied up for years and workers can have confidence their benefits are handled the right way."

Key provisions of the INSIGHT Act:

• Requires EBSA to annually report to Congress on enforcement investigations, including origin, key dates, timeliness, and explanations with estimated completion dates for cases exceeding 36 months, without identifying information.
• Requires EBSA to notify plan sponsors when Department of Labor (DOL) provides adverse assistance to plaintiff attorneys and to execute and disclose written agreements, with an annual report to Congress on such agreements.

This legislation is supported by the American Benefits Council, the ERISA Industry Committee, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Investment Company Institute, The ESOP Association, and the Business Group on Health.

Full bill text can be found here.

Background:

Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) protects the rights of workers, retirees, and families who are beneficiaries of private retirement plans, health plans, and other welfare benefit plans. EBSA enforces these protections.

Despite its mission, however, there are alarming reports from stakeholders, backed by data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that under past administrations EBSA failed to conduct its enforcement in a timely manner. A May 2021 GAO report found that 17 percent of all investigations opened in 2017 were still open four years later. Plan sponsors have reported that investigations often appear without direction or purpose, trapping them in endless document requests, interviews, and investigator questions. The Biden Administration also raised concerns by entering into secret agreements with plaintiff's attorneys to divulge government investigative information.

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