OregonSaves Obstructs Federal Law with Reporting Requirements
For Immediate Release
Washington, DC – The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) today filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Oregon against the Oregon Retirement Savings Board for obstructing federal law. In the complaint, ERIC is requesting an injunction against only the reporting requirement OregonSaves imposes on employers that already provide a retirement plan.
ERIC is the only national association that advocates exclusively for large employers on health, retirement, and compensation public policies at the federal, state, and local levels. ERIC’s members are leaders in every sector of the economy, each employing thousands of workers in states across the country. While ERIC and its members support efforts to increase retirement options, they believe that such efforts should not be done at the expense of those employers already complying with federal law.
In the lawsuit, ERIC argues that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts the reporting requirements in the recently enacted state-run mandatory retirement plan, OregonSaves. The state law requires large employers who already provide a retirement plan to formally request an exemption from OregonSaves, completing paperwork every three years to qualify to be exempt from the state mandate. Reporting on plan activities is a core ERISA function governed exclusively by federal law.
“Oregon is reaching beyond what the federal law allows by imposing a compliance burden on employers who voluntarily provide a retirement plan to their employees,” said Annette Guarisco Fildes, president and CEO, ERIC. “This approach not only violates federal law but is counterproductive as it will add unnecessary costs and burdens on employers who are doing exactly what policymakers across the country want them to do – helping their employees save for retirement with an employer-sponsored retirement plan.”
ERIC previously submitted comments on OregonSaves during a public comment period, before it became law. ERIC urged the Oregon Retirement Savings Board to exempt ERISA-qualified retirement plans from any and all mandates, and to ensure that no reporting requirement was imposed. Unfortunately, the Oregon Retirement Savings Board ignored this comment and proceeded with imposing a compliance burden on employers that already provide a retirement plan.
To read ERIC’s complaint, click here.