Department of Labor December 20, 2023 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Labor (Department) is soliciting comments concerning a proposed extension of the information collection request (ICR) titled ``Requirements of a Bona Fide Thrift Savings Plan and Requirements of a Bona Fide Profit-Sharing Plan or Trust.'' This comment request is part of continuing Departmental efforts to reduce paperwork and respondent burden in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). This program helps to ensure that requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden (time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on respondents can be properly assessed. A copy of the proposed information request can be obtained by contacting the office listed below in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this Notice.

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)-sponsored information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

This document proposes to rescind the Department of Labor's (Department or DOL) 2018 rule entitled ``Definition of Employer Association Health Plans'' (2018 AHP Rule). The 2018 AHP Rule establishes an alternative set of criteria from those set forth in the Department's pre-rule guidance for determining when a group or association of employers is acting ``indirectly in the interest of an employer'' under section 3(5) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) for purposes of establishing an association health plan (AHP) as a multiple employer group health plan. The 2018 AHP Rule's alternative criteria were set aside in large part by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in New York v. United States Department of Labor. The district court found the bona fide association and working owner provisions in the rule to be an unreasonable interpretation of ERISA, inconsistent with congressional intent that ERISA applies to employee benefits arising out of employment relationships. The Department, after further review of the relevant statutory language, judicial decisions, and pre-rule guidance, and further consideration of ERISA's statutory purposes and related policy goals, now proposes to rescind in full the 2018 AHP Rule in order to resolve and mitigate any uncertainty regarding the status of the standards that were set under the 2018 AHP Rule, allow for a reexamination of the criteria for a group or association of employers to be able to sponsor an AHP, and ensure that guidance being provided to the regulated community is in alignment with ERISA's text, purposes, and policies.