Guest Article

(From the January 17, 2012 issue of Deloitte's Washington Bulletin, a periodic update of legal and regulatory developments relating to Employee Benefits.)

DOL Allows Complaints and Questions to Be Submitted Online

The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has established a Consumer Assistance webpage that allows users to submit questions and complaints to the EBSA electronically.

The webpage not only provides users with links to tools regarding retirement and health plans, it allows the submission of questions and complaints. Submissions are routed to the EBSA regional office that corresponds to the user's zip code. According to the press release, an EBSA benefit adviser will respond to an on-line submission as soon as possible and in any event within three business days. A Spanish version of the webpage is also available.

The EBSA reports that last year it assisted over 230,000 consumers through its toll-free help line, and opened 900 formal investigations of retirement and health plans based on complaints that could not be resolved informally.

The information in this Washington Bulletin is general in nature only and not intended to provide advice or guidance for specific situations. If you have any questions or need additional information about articles appearing in this or previous versions of Washington Bulletin, please contact: Robert Davis 202.879.3094, Elizabeth Drigotas 202.879.4985, Mary Jones 202.378.5067, Stephen LaGarde 202.879-5608, Erinn Madden 202.220.2692, Bart Massey 202.220.2104, Tom Pevarnik 202.879.5314, Sandra Rolitsky 202.220.2025, Deborah Walker 202.879.4955. Copyright 2012, Deloitte.