Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) sent a letter to Department of Labor (DOL) Inspector General (IG) Larry D. Turner renewing the Committee’s request that the IG investigate the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) for serious abuses of authority following reports that it shared confidential information with a plaintiff’s attorney for use against employee benefits plan fiduciaries.
In the letter, Chairman Walberg writes: “As we saw in the first Trump administration, career bureaucrats have sought to undermine the goals of the President and his cabinet Secretaries. We know of cases where bureaucrats have leaked sensitive information or are working with plaintiffs’ attorneys to skew court cases against employers. The Committee’s oversight work recently brought to light how [EBSA] is abusing its authority to secretly share information with class action law firms. This is a blatant abuse of the law, and our Committee will hold EBSA accountable.”
The letter continues:“[C]ohen Milstein Sellers and Toll, PLLC, a law firm known for pursuing class actions lawsuits involving employee benefit plans, was quoted as saying, ‘Against this backdrop [of employee benefit plans], common interest agreements between DOL and the private sector are common, legal and have been entered into by different administrations for decades.’ However, the plan sponsor community was unaware that EBSA was commonly feeding employee benefit plan information gathered during investigations to plaintiff law firms.”
The letter concludes:“As the Committee begins its oversight for the 119th Congress, I request that the OIG continue to review the questions and concerns raised in the November 21, 2024, letter. Information from the OIG on this matter may provide important assistance to Congress in determining whether legislative changes are warranted.”
