The ERISA Litigation Reform Act amends federal pension law to make it harder for employees and beneficiaries to sue over certain retirement plan transactions. The bill raises the legal standard that plaintiffs must meet when claiming fiduciaries violated rules about prohibited transactions, requiring them to prove the transactions don't qualify for specific exemptions rather than allowing courts to decide this issue. Additionally, the law automatically pauses discovery (the process where both sides exchange evidence) in ERISA lawsuits while initial legal motions are pending, unless a court determines that specific evidence needs to be preserved immediately. During this pause, parties must still maintain all potentially relevant documents as if they were formally requested. The bill affects current and former employees with retirement plans, plan administrators, and fiduciaries, essentially giving defendants more procedural advantages in litigation over plan management and investment decisions.
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.