US Department of Labor issues Field Assistance Bulletin updating enforcement priorities for employee benefits laws

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today issued Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-01 to clarify its enforcement priorities and guiding principles.

As the chief enforcement agency of the United States' voluntary employee benefits system, EBSA periodically reviews and evaluates the responsiveness and effectiveness of its enforcement and regulatory efforts to ensure it is achieving its mission of protecting the workplace-related benefits of American workers and their beneficiaries. Based on a recent evaluation, this FAB updates the priorities of EBSA's enforcement program to focus on the security of employee benefits while informing the regulated community.

"This update to our enforcement program makes it clear that our focus is on true bad actors whose actions harm the benefits American workers and retirees have earned for themselves and their families," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz. "We will no longer be second-guessing the prudent discretionary judgement of fiduciaries but instead will have even-handed and fair enforcement with a close relationship to the language of the law, guidance issued by the Department of Labor, or clearly established case law."

The FAB sets forth EBSA's enforcement priorities and four guiding principles that are designed to ensure that EBSA's enforcement is fair, even-handed, responsive, and focused.

The priorities are:

• Focusing enforcement on the most egregious conduct and significant harm.
• Ensuring whenever possible and consistent with our mission that EBSA is not regulating by enforcement, guaranteeing fairness, prior notice, and clarity to the regulated community.
• Performing a proper review by senior agency officials of all critical enforcement initiatives.
• Committing that EBSA's enforcement will be timely and responsive.

EBSA ensures the security of retirement, health, and other job-based benefits for American workers and their families. The agency is responsible for protecting more than 156 million workers, retirees, and their families, who are covered by approximately 2.6 million health plans, 801,000 private retirement plans, and 514,000 additional welfare benefit plans. Together, these plans hold about $13.8 trillion in assets.

Employers and workers can contact EBSA at askebsa.dol.gov or call 866-444-3272 toll-free for help with private sector job-based retirement and health plans.

Read Field Assistance Bulletin 2026-01, Guiding Principles for EBSA Enforcement Priorities .