DOL to Hold Hearing on Provision of Services to Employee Benefit Plans
The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold a public hearing March 20-21 to hear testimony about its regulatory proposal on the disclosure of service provider compensation and conflicts of interest information to employers. The hearing will take place at the department in Room S-4215 A-C, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW in Washington, DC.
The proposal, published in the Dec. 13, 2007, Federal Register, would amend the department's regulation dealing with the provision of services to employee benefit plans. Specifically, the proposed regulation provides that contracts between plans and certain service providers must include detailed written disclosures about direct and indirect compensation that will be received by the service provider and conflicts of interest. The department also published a proposed class exemption to provide relief for employers when service providers fail to comply with the regulation's disclosure requirements.