H.R. 2958 would require the Secretary of Labor to notify sponsors of employee benefit plans and employers when the Secretary provides “adverse assistance,” which is defined in the bill as information or advice that could be used by plan participants in a civil action against the plans or employers. Under current law, participants in retirement and health plans can sue plan managers and employers. The Employee Benefits Security Administration has the authority to investigate those plans to ensure that they comply with requirements in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. In some cases, that agency shares information from those investigations with plan participants for use in potential litigation.
H.R. 2958 would require the Department of Labor (DOL) to enter into a written agreement with the recipient before sharing such information and to provide that agreement to any employer, plan sponsor, or fiduciary that could be directly and adversely affected by the information. The bill also would require DOL to report annually to the Congress on each of those agreements.
Using information from DOL and based on the costs of similar reporting requirements, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2958 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2026-2030 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Noah Meyerson. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
