The Balance the Scales Act requires the Department of Labor to follow new procedures and reporting requirements when it provides assistance to attorneys who are suing employers or pension plan administrators under federal retirement law. Before the Labor Department can share information or provide advice that could help lawyers in lawsuits against pension plans, it must sign a written agreement detailing what assistance it will provide and give a copy of that agreement to the employers or plan sponsors who might be sued. The bill also requires the Labor Department to submit detailed annual reports to Congress listing all such agreements, including what information was shared, when meetings occurred, and how these arrangements support the goal of encouraging employers to offer retirement plans voluntarily. The legislation affects employers who sponsor pension plans, attorneys who sue them, and the federal agency that enforces pension law, with the first report due within 60 days of the bill's enactment and annually thereafter by December 31. The bill aims to increase transparency in the relationship between government regulators and private attorneys while promoting voluntary employer participation in providing retirement benefits.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.