Reorg at EBSA will shift rule-making oversight to political appointee
Career staffer widely recognized as stewarding fiduciary rule will now oversee enforcement
(Update: A previous version of this story mistakenly reported the new position of Assistant Secretary for Regional Offices will be a politically appointed position. It will be a career position.)
The Employee Benefits Security Administration, the arm of the Labor Department that oversees the regulation and enforcement of about 703,000 private sector retirement plans under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, will undergo a significant reorganization to its top leadership, effective October 1 of this year.
Assistant Secretary of Labor Preston Rutledge communicated the shake up in a recent internal email obtained by BloombergLaw.com.
Under the reorganization, the responsibilities of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations will change substantially.
Timothy Hauser currently holds that title, and functions as EBSA’s chief operating officer, according to DOL’s website.
Hauser joined the Labor Department in 1991. He has held the title of Deputy Assistant Secretary of EBSA since 2014. Previously he was the Associate Solicitor of the Plan Benefits Security Division in the Office of the Solicitor at Labor.
He is also widely recognized as playing a key leadership role in crafting the Department’s fiduciary rule under the Obama administration. An appellate court ultimately vacated the rule in 2018.
Hauser’s position is not politically appointed.
Under the organizational changes laid out by Assistant Secretary Rutledge, Hauser’s role overseeing the Office of Regulations and Interpretations and the Office of Exemption and Determinations will shift to Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, who was appointed by President Trump in November of 2017.
Hauser will serve as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the National Office. Wilson will continue serving as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary.
Wilson is the first in line of succession to Rutledge, “and is the assistant secretary’s alter ego and principal advisor,” according to DOL’s website.
The move to shift the crafting of regulations under the auspice of a political appointee comes as Labor is expected to release an amended fiduciary rule this fall.
Under the reorganization, the career Deputy Assistant Secretary—Hauser’s position—will oversee EBSA’s Office of Enforcement, and Office of Outreach, Education, and Assistance.
Also, a new career position—the Assistant Secretary for Regional Offices—will be created to oversee EBSA’s 10 regional offices.
“Regional offices have historically maintained significant independence and regional directors have had wide latitude in opening investigations and interpreting ERISA to determine if there have been violations,” according to analysis from the Groom Law Group.
“The impact of this reorganization remains to be seen. However, it appears intended to, among other things, bring more uniformity in their interpretations and enforcement activities on complex and emerging issues,” wrote attorneys at Groom Law Group.
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