On March 19, House Education & the Workforce Committee Chair Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) wrote to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging her to focus DOL on “neglected” regulatory issues like expansion of access to health care and a range of PBGC issues.

An April 3 Department of Labor (DOL) Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB 2025-02) provides guidance on the annual funding notice requirements applicable to defined benefit (DB) plans. The Bulletin also provides updated model notices for single-employer and multiemployer DB pension plans.

On March 12, the Senate confirmed Keith Sonderling as deputy secretary of labor, the number two job at the Department of Labor (DOL). The vote was 53 to 46.

Senators closely questioned Department of Labor (DOL) Deputy Secretary nominee Keith Sonderling during his February 27 confirmation hearing before the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Sonderling has been nominated to serve in the number 2 spot at DOL. He vowed to undertake a wholesale review of every DOL enforcement division, and to make sure that DOL has the resources it needs to carry out its mission.

On March 10, the Senate voted to confirm former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to be Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). The 67 to 32 vote was bipartisan and included some GOP opposition as well as some Democratic support.

The Department of Labor (DOL) has appealed the November Eastern District of Texas district court ruling that overturned the agency’s updated white-collar exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act’s (FLSA’s) overtime (OT) rules. However, the Trump Administration could reverse the decision to appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

President-Elect Trump has announced he will nominate former Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) to be Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL). Rep. Chavez-DeRemer lost her bid for reelection last month. She is viewed as a pro-labor Republican, one of only a handful of GOP House members who cosponsored the labor-friendly PRO Act

A number of key issues remain to be addressed by the outgoing 118^th Congress. They include the need to fund the government past the December 20 dates on which current funding authority expires. The government funding issues include extension of National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) authority and funding.

Incoming President-Elect Donald Trump’s Administration is likely to roll back a plethora of regulations of concern to NAIFA members and their clients.

Last month the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new overtime (OT) regulation. The court ruled that the regulation does not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Two federal district courts in Texas stayed (blocked) the new fiduciary rule’s September 23 effective date. Those stays remain in effect, pending the outcome of the courts’ decisions on the cases’ merits or whether the Department of Labor (DOL) decides to appeal the stays and is successful.

Two federal district courts in Texas have blocked enforcement of the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) fiduciary-only rule. The rule’s September 23 effective date was enjoined (blocked) by the Texas Eastern District Court on July 26, and then one day later stayed (stopped) by the Texas Northern District Court. NAIFA and several of its chapters are among the plaintiffs in the Northern District court case.

When Congress returns to Washington on September 9, lawmakers will have less than three weeks to fund the government (and consider any other pre-election pending legislation). Plus, Representatives and Senators will be focused on the November 5 election, when partisan control of the House, Senate, and Presidency are all in play. So, most Washington insiders believe that Congress will punt on most, if not all, major decisions, leading to a fraught post-election lame-duck session.

On July 10, the House Education and Workforce Committee approved a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to block the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new fiduciary-only rule. The CRA resolution, H.J.Res.142, would “disapprove the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to “Retirement Security by Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary (89 Fed. Reg. 32122 (April 25, 2024)), and such rule shall have no force or effect.”

The Supreme Court decision to overturn the Chevron Doctrine—a 40+-year-old rule that required courts to defer to federal agencies’ “reasonable” interpretations of “ambiguous” statutes—may mean that a sea change in regulatory activity—and possibly legislation—is likely.

Last month Republican lawmakers introduced motions to block the new rule raising the salary threshold for the white-collar exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime (OT) rule. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced the Congressional Review Act (CRA) motion in the House; Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced it in the Senate.

On May 24, a group of nine industry organizations, including NAIFA and the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) newly finalized fiduciary rule. Joining NAIFA and ACLI in the lawsuit are NAIFA-Texas, NAIFA-Fort Worth, NAIFA-Dallas, NAIFA-Piney Woods of East Texas, the National Association of Fixed Annuities (NAFA), the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), and Finseca.

Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions to block the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) newly finalized fiduciary rule have been introduced in both the House and Senate. It appears the motion may pass, but President Biden is virtually certain to veto it if it does pass.

A coalition of business groups has filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) new and now-final white-collar exemption to Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime (OT) rules. A court ruling on the lawsuit could result in a delay in the July 1 effective date of the new rule.

A study released on June 6 by the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) shows a 25 percent increase in pension risk transfer contracts in the first quarter of this year. A LIMRA statement discussing the study pointed to a record $14.6 billion in 146 contracts in companies shifting their lifetime pension obligations to annuities.