[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 70 (Monday, April 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15589-15590]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-06266]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB
Review; Comment Request; Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and a
Party in Interest
ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting this Employee
Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)-sponsored information
collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act
of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.
DATES: The OMB will consider all written comments that the agency
receives on or before May 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Howell by telephone at 202-
693-6782, or by email at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This information collection request relates
to two prohibited transaction class exemptions (PTEs) that the
Department has granted, both of which involve settlement agreements.
These two exemptions are described below.
PTE 94-71 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain
taxes imposed by the Code, a transaction or activity that is
authorized, prior to the execution of the transaction or activity, by a
settlement agreement, to which the Department is a party, resulting
from an investigation of an employee benefit plan conducted by the
Department. The following information collections are among the
conditions for the exemption: (1) A party engaging in a settlement
agreement arising out of a Department investigation must provide
written notice to the affected participants and beneficiaries of the
plan at least 30 days prior to entry into the settlement agreement. The
notice must contain an objective description of the transaction or
activity, the approximate date on which the transaction will occur, the
address of the regional or district office of the Department that
negotiated the settlement agreement, and a statement informing
participants and beneficiaries of their right to forward their comments
to such office. (2) A copy of the notice and a description of the
method by which it will be distributed must be approved in advance by
the regional or district office of the Department which negotiated the
settlement.
PTE 2003-39 exempts from certain restrictions of ERISA and certain
taxes imposed by the Code, transactions arising out of the settlement
of litigation that involve: the release by the plan or a plan fiduciary
of legal claims against parties in interest in exchange for payment
given by or on behalf of the party in interest to the plan; an
extension of credit by a plan to a party interest in connection with a
settlement; and the plan's acquisition, holding, and disposition of
employer securities received in settlement of litigation. The relief is
granted provided certain conditions are met, such as the requirement of
an independent fiduciary who has no relationship to, or interest in,
any parties in the litigation to authorize the settlement and the
settlement terms of the agreement and any extension of credit are
reasonable and no less favorable than comparable arm's length
agreement. The other conditions include the following information
collections: (1) The terms of the settlement must be specifically
described in a written agreement or consent decree. (2) The fiduciary
acting on behalf of the plan must acknowledge in writing that the
person is a fiduciary with respect to the settlement of the litigation.
(3) The plan fiduciary must maintain records of the transaction for six
years and must disclose the records on request to the Department and
other interested persons. For additional substantive information about
this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on
July 9, 2024 (89 FR 56416).
Comments are invited on: (1) whether the collection of information
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the
Department, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (2) the accuracy of the agency's estimates of the burden and
cost of the collection of information, including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality,
utility and clarity of the information collection; and (4) ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including the use of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency
generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and
the public is generally not required to respond to an information
collection, unless the OMB approves it and displays a currently valid
OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions
of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to
comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid
OMB Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6.
DOL seeks PRA authorization for this information collection for
three (3) years. OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than
three (3) years without renewal. The DOL notes that information
collection requirements submitted to the OMB for existing ICRs receive
a month-to-month extension while they undergo review.
Agency: DOL-EBSA.
Title of Collection: Settlement Agreements Between a Plan and a
Party in Interest.
OMB Control Number: 1210-0091.
Affected Public: Private sector, Businesses or other for-profits,
Not-for-profit institutions.
[[Page 15590]]
Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 3.
Total Estimated Number of Responses: 567.
Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 5 hours.
Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $17.
(Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D))
Michael Howell,
Senior Paperwork Reduction Act Analyst.
[FR Doc. 2025-06266 Filed 4-11-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P