Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2015
Latest action · Nov 16, 2015 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 16, 2015
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2015
Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the mandatory summary description of a group health plan to declare: (1) whether the plan permits either the plan sponsor or any participating employer to unilaterally modify or terminate plan benefits affecting employees, retirees, and beneficiaries; and (2) when and to what extent plan benefits are fully vested with respect to these individuals.
Presumes that retiree health benefits cannot be modified or terminated as of the date an employee retires or completes 20 years of service with the employer. Allows this presumption to be overcome only upon a showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that the employee, before becoming a plan participant, was made aware, in clear and unambiguous terms, that the plan allowed for such a modification or termination of benefits.
Amends the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for a labor organization and employer to enter into a contract or agreement to modify a previous agreement in a manner that results in a reduction or termination of retiree health insurance benefits, if the modification occurs after the retiree's retirement date.
Directs the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress on strategies used by corporations to avoid obligations to pay promised employee and retiree benefits.
Cosponsors 17
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 16, 2015 to Sep 6, 2016; 1 is an original cosponsor, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NC | Walter B. Jones | Original | Apr 16, 2015 |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | May 15, 2015 | |
| D-IA | David Loebsack | Jun 3, 2015 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jun 10, 2015 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Jun 23, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | Jul 21, 2015 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Jul 23, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Sep 8, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Alan S. Lowenthal | Sep 10, 2015 | |
| D-NY | Yvette D. Clarke | Sep 10, 2015 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Sep 11, 2015 | |
| D-CA | Mark Takano | Sep 18, 2015 | |
| D-PA | Robert A. Brady | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Sep 24, 2015 | |
| D-NC | David E. Price | Oct 23, 2015 | |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Jan 28, 2016 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Sep 6, 2016 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Apr 16, 2015 |
| Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee | Referred Nov 16, 2015 |
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Nov 16, 2015Referred to the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.
- Apr 16, 2015Introduced in House
- Apr 16, 2015Referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 161, no. 55, April 16, 2015, page H2309.
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the National Labor Relations Act to protect the health benefits of retirees, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2015
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Corporate finance and management
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Evidence and witnesses
- Government studies and investigations
- Health care costs and insurance
- Health care coverage and access
- Judicial procedure and administration
- Labor and Employment
- Labor-management relations
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 16, 2015Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
