Employee Benefits Security Administration August 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This proposed rule is a companion to the Department of Labor/ Employee Benefits Security Administration's (Department) direct final rule (published today in the ``Rules and Regulations'' section of the Federal Register) amending the Department's civil penalty regulation under section 502(c)(7) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) to reflect recent amendments to section 502(c)(7) by the Pension Protection Act of 2006. These amendments authorize the Secretary of Labor to assess civil penalties not to exceed $100 per day for each violation of section 101(m) of ERISA. Section 101(m) of ERISA requires plan administrators of individual account plans to notify participants and beneficiaries of their right to sell the company stock in their accounts and reinvest the proceeds into other investments available under the plan. The Department is publishing these amendments as a direct final rule without prior proposal because the Department views them as highly technical and anticipates no significant adverse comment. The Department has explained its reasons in the preamble to the direct final rule. If the Department receives no significant adverse comment during the comment period, no further action on this proposed rule will be taken. However, if the Department receives significant adverse comment, the Department will withdraw the direct final rule and it will not take effect. In that case, the Department will address all public comments in a subsequent final rule based on this proposed rule. The Department will not institute a second comment period on this rule. Any parties interested in commenting must do so during this comment period.

This document contains exemptions issued by the Department of Labor (the Department) from certain of the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA or the Act) and/or the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). A notice was published in the Federal Register of the pendency before the Department of a proposal to grant such exemption. The notice set forth a summary of facts and representations contained in the application for exemption and referred interested persons to the application for a complete statement of the facts and representations. The application has been available for public inspection at the Department in Washington, DC. The notice also invited interested persons to submit comments on the requested exemption to the Department. In addition the notice stated that any interested person might submit a written request that a public hearing be held (where appropriate). The applicant has represented that it has complied with the requirements of the notification to interested persons. No requests for a hearing were received by the Department. Public comments were received by the Department as described in the granted exemption. The notice of proposed exemption was issued and the exemption is being granted solely by the Department because, effective December 31, 1978, section 102 of Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. App. 1 (1996), transferred the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue exemptions of the type proposed to the Secretary of Labor.