Labor Laws & Money Blog

WASHINGTON – During a Jan. 29 ceremony at the Frances Perkins Building, the U.S. Department of Labor recognized 888 employers for their commitment to employing and supporting the nation’s service members by presenting them with the 2025 Honoring Investments in Recruiting and Employing American Military Veterans Medallion Award.“The recipients of the 2025 HIRE Vets Medallion Award have shown a commitment to recruit, employ, and retain our nation’s veterans,” said Secretary Chavez-DeRemer. “From small town businesses to Fortune 500 firms, these companies know that when they hire veterans, they gain dedicated and uniquely qualified employees who can make a significant contribution to their organizations.”Signed into law by President Donald Trump in 2017, the HIRE Vets Medallion Program is the only federal-level program recognizing veteran employment and employers. Employers have hired nearly 290,000 veterans since the program’s inception, including more than 74,000 veterans hired by 2025’s medallion honorees in the past two years.Presented annually, recipients of the HIRE Vets Medallion Award include large, medium, and small employers who have attested to meeting rigorous criteria, including veteran hiring and retention, availability of veteran-specific resources, leadership programming, dedicated human resources, compensation and tuition assistance programs for veterans. See photos from the HIRE Vets Medallion Awards ceremony.Learn more about the program and how to apply. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today filed an amicus brief urging the Third Circuit to affirm a lower court’s decision dismissing claims in Barragan v. Honeywell Int’l Inc. that the employer breached its fiduciary duties by not allocating forfeited funds to pay plan expenses. In the amicus brief, the department argues that the district court correctly held that the plan sponsor did not breach its fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty because the plaintiff’s argument only included a bare allegation that forfeitures were not allocated to pay plan expenses, even though the plan at issue provided for fiduciary discretion over that decision. Instead, the brief explains how a prudent and loyal fiduciary might have concluded that it was important to ensure that plan participants received the contributions expressly promised by the plan in a timely manner. The department has primary authority to interpret and enforce provisions of Title I of the Employee Retirement Security Act to ensure fair and impartial administration and compliance with its requirements. “ERISA’s core principle is to protect the benefits promised to plan participants,” said Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz. “In Barragan, the district court correctly held that the mere allegation that a fiduciary used forfeitures for something other than fees cannot support a claim for fiduciary breach.” The department’s amicus brief explains the Secretary of Labor’s view that ERISA’s purpose is to foster established standards of conduct for fiduciaries, and that a fiduciary’s use of forfeited employer contributions in this manner would not necessarily violate ERISA. The brief also confirms that there is no per se rule barring plan fiduciaries from deciding to allocate forfeited employer contributions to reduce future employer contributions rather than using those funds to offset administrative costs. “This filing is part of an ongoing effort by the Department to stop regulation by opportunistic litigation,” stated U.S. Department of Labor Solicitor Jonathan Berry. “The Department previously advanced the same legal analysis in Wright v. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Hutchins v. HP Inc., cases involving materially similar fact patterns in which the district courts likewise dismissed the claims. “Together, these cases reflect a consistent application of ERISA principles governing fiduciary discretion.” Read the department’s amicus brief in Barragan v. Honeywell Int’l Inc.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration recovered more than $1.4 billion for retirement, health and welfare benefits plans, participants and beneficiaries in fiscal year 2025, with more than half resulting from the agency's enforcement actions. The FY25 data was published in a fact sheet detailing the recovery of workers’ benefits through various enforcement, outreach and compliance assistance programs, including the voluntary fiduciary correction program, the abandoned plan program, investigations, and monetary recoveries from informal complaint resolutions through EBSA’s benefits advisors. EBSA also achieved other victories for workers and their families during FY25, such as the elimination of improper benefit plan provisions, improved fiduciary governance of plans, and increased access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits. These results protect current and future participants and beneficiaries by ensuring more honest, reliable management of plan assets and enforcement of workers’ benefits and rights. “EBSA’s significant fiscal year 2025 results obtained for participants and beneficiaries demonstrate our commitment to ensure access to secure retirement, health and other work-related benefits for American workers and their families,” said Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz.EBSA is responsible for protecting more than 156 million workers, retirees, and their families who are covered by approximately 2.6 million health plans, 801,000 private retirement plans, and 514,000 additional welfare benefit plans. Together, these plans hold about $13.8 trillion in assets.Employers and workers can contact EBSA at askebsa.dol.gov or call 866-444-3272 toll-free for help with private sector job-based retirement and health plans.         Learn more about EBSA.Read the EBSA fiscal year 2025 enforcement fact sheet.

In the week ending January 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 209,000, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 10,000 from 200,000 to 210,000. The 4-week moving average was 206,250, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 2,500 from 201,500 to 204,000.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today issued a landmark proposed regulation designed to bring overdue transparency to the fees and compensation pharmacy benefit managers receive.The proposed regulation is the most significant federal reform of prescription drug middlemen proposed in decades and builds on the accomplishments of the administration’s first term. It also advances President Trump’s Executive Order, “Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First,” that directed federal agencies take additional steps to create a fairer prescription drug market that lowers costs and ensures accountability across the health care system. By lowering drug costs, the Trump administration is putting money back in the pockets of American workers and retirees, their families, and businesses.“Under President Trump’s bold leadership, the Department of Labor is shining a bright light into pharmacy benefit managers’ business practices – delivering unprecedented transparency to an otherwise opaque industry,” said Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. “When middlemen are forced to operate in the sunlight, American workers and their families win. Hidden fees and distorted incentives have no place in American healthcare.”“The Department of Labor is delivering on President Trump’s promise to fix a broken healthcare system by introducing radical transparency into drug costs” said Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling. “This action will allow employers to see the full extent of the fees charged by pharmacy benefit managers, enabling them to negotiate a better deal for themselves and American workers.” PBMs act as an intermediary in the prescription drug supply chain for employer-sponsored self-insured group health plans that provide coverage to approximately 90 million Americans. Health plan fiduciaries, however, often cannot obtain full transparency into the payments that PBM service providers and their affiliates receive from drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and others.The proposed rule would require pharmacy benefit managers to make disclosures to plan fiduciaries that would allow them to assess the reasonableness of compensation for the services and to fulfill their duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. “I commend the Department of Labor and Secretary Chavez-DeRemer for taking bold action to empower patients and hold pharmacy benefit managers accountable. The Trump Administration is delivering radical transparency to the prescription drug market and lowering costs for the American people. This needed reform will help fix a broken system, protect families, and Make America Healthy Again,” said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Issued under ERISA’s statutory service provider prohibited transaction exemption, the proposed rule requires PBMs to disclose the following information for the first time:Rebates and other payments from drug manufacturers.Compensation received when the price paid by the plan for a prescription drug exceeds the amount reimbursed to the pharmacy. Payments recouped from pharmacies in connection with prescription drugs dispensed to the plan.   The proposed regulation would also allow plan fiduciaries to audit the accuracy of PBM disclosures and provides additional relief for plan fiduciaries if their PBM fails to meet its obligation. Now available for public inspection, comments on the proposal are due 60 days from its Jan. 30 publication in the Federal Register. Read the notice of proposed rulemaking on pharmacy benefit manager disclosures.