Chairwoman McClain’s Legislation to Increase Government Accountability, Improve Benefit Delivery for Workers Passes Committee

WASHINGTON-Today, the House Education and Workforce Committee advanced House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain's (R-Mich.) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) Investigations Transparency Act. The legislation reins in bureaucratic overreach and delivers transparency to job creators.

"Today is a step forward for job creators, nonprofits, and the millions of employees who rely on them for retirement and health benefits. The EBSA Investigations Transparency Act puts Washington bureaucrats on notice-no more endless fishing expeditions or unaccountable investigations. Employers should be focused on helping their employees succeed, not stuck in red tape for years on end. I'm proud to see this bill move forward," Chairwoman McClain said.

"For too long, employers, plan sponsors, and fiduciaries have faced investigations that can drag on for years without clear timelines or communication, creating uncertainty that harms not only businesses but also the workers and retirees whose benefits these plans support. EBSA should be focused on protecting worker benefits and ensuring employees have access to high quality plans-not burying job creators in endless investigations. Passing this bill out of committee is a meaningful step toward restoring trust and predictability in EBSA's oversight process," Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said.

"The American Benefits Council strongly supports the EBSA Investigations Transparency Act which would shine a much needed light on excessively long Department of Labor audits of ERISA plans by improving disclosure of such audits and thereby strengthening accountability. We thank Chairwoman McClain for her outstanding leadership on this important issue. In recent years, audits, such as those for missing participants, have often dragged on too long causing unnecessary expense and episodic intense and repetitive work that distracts from the plan sponsor's mission to provide benefits and serve participants," Lynn Dudley, Senior Vice President, American Benefits Council, said.

The EBSA Investigations Transparency Act addresses longstanding concerns from employers, plan sponsors, and nonprofits who have faced lengthy, burdensome investigations with little to no communication from EBSA investigators. The bill would require EBSA to provide detailed updates and timelines during investigations, report key metrics to Congress, and ensure that enforcement actions are conducted fairly and efficiently.

To read more about the bill, click here.

Background:

Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) created the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to enforce the Title's provisions. The EBSA was created to protect the rights of workers, retirees, and families who are beneficiaries of private retirement plans, health plans, and other welfare benefit plans.

Despite this mission, there are reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), that EBSA is failing to conduct its enforcement in a timely manner. The 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 a clear purpose, trapping them in endless document requests, interviews, and investigator questions.