The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued new regulations requiring apprenticeship training programs to file electronically in order to take advantage of an exemption from ERISA’s reporting and disclosure requirements. (See DOL Reg. § 2520.104-22)
An apprenticeship training program (“ATP”) is an employee welfare benefit plan that exclusively provides apprenticeship training and other training benefits.
The DOL’s new regulations provide that an ATP program administrator must now take the following steps for the ATP to be exempt from ERISA’s reporting and disclosure requirements:
The administrator must electronically files notice with the DOL that contains the following information:
The ATP’s name;
The ATP sponsor’s employer identification number (EIN);
The ATP administrator’s name;
The name and location of an office (or person) from which (or whom) interested persons may obtain: (1) a description of any existing or anticipated courses of study the ATP sponsors or establishes, including any prerequisites for enrolling in the course; and (2) the procedure for enrolling in a such courses of study.
The ATP administrator must takes steps to ensure the information in the notice is given to the contributing employer’s employees, who may be eligible to enroll in any course of study the ATP sponsors or establishes.
The ATP administrator must makes a copy of the notice available to employees upon request.
The effective date for these new regulations is August 16, 2019.
