HR2869-119

What This Bill Does

The EBSA Investigations Transparency Act adds an annual reporting requirement to ERISA. By December 31 each year after enactment, the Secretary of Labor must report to Congress on active enforcement cases, investigations, and targeted compliance monitoring under ERISA section 504. For each investigation, the report must identify the EBSA regional, district, or other office that opened it, the opening date, the first document-request date, whether the investigation concluded within 36 months after that request, why any investigation remained open after that period, and the estimated conclusion date. The report may not identify private parties such as plan sponsors, fiduciaries, service providers, employees, or participants. The bill also defines when an investigation is considered concluded and treats changed issues or topics as a continuing investigation rather than a new one.

Who Benefits and How

Congress benefits from annual, case-status visibility into EBSA investigations and long-running enforcement matters. Plan sponsors under ERISA investigations benefit from congressional oversight of delayed or prolonged investigations, even though their names are not disclosed. Retirement plan fiduciaries and retirement plan service providers benefit from greater transparency about EBSA investigation timelines and targeted compliance monitoring. Retirement plan participants may benefit indirectly if oversight encourages more timely investigations without exposing private-party identities.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Employee Benefits Security Administration must collect, organize, and report investigation data each year. Department of Labor regional offices must track opening dates, document-request dates, 36-month status, reasons for delay, expected closure dates, closing letters, and targeted compliance monitoring. The Secretary of Labor must submit the annual report while protecting private-party identities. EBSA enforcement managers face additional oversight of investigations that remain open for more than 36 months.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual reports to Congress on ERISA enforcement cases, active investigations, and targeted compliance monitoring.
• Requires investigation-specific information on the EBSA office, opening date, first document-request date, 36-month status, reasons for delay, and estimated conclusion date.
• Prohibits identifying private parties such as plan sponsors, fiduciaries, service providers, employees, or participants in the report.
• Defines when an investigation is concluded and treats changed issues during an investigation as a continuing investigation.