WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor announced a series of actions this past week affecting retirement plan oversight, job training for formerly incarcerated individuals, worker classification rules, and prescription drug benefit transparency.
What This Means for You
- Workers may see expanded support for employee ownership programs and new grants aimed at helping people with criminal records enter skilled trades.
- A proposed rule could change how businesses determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor.
- Group health plans could receive more detailed disclosures from pharmacy benefit managers about fees and compensation.
Employee Ownership Report to Congress
On Monday, the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, or EBSA, issued a report to Congress detailing efforts to expand employee ownership.
Employee ownership includes structures such as Employee Stock Ownership Plans, known as ESOPs, worker cooperatives, and employee ownership trusts. An ESOP is a retirement plan that allows workers to own shares in the company where they work.
According to the report, ESOP participation has increased by 8 percent over the past decade, the number of worker cooperatives has more than doubled, and employee ownership trusts have grown since the first was established in the United States in 2014.
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employee Benefits Security Daniel Aronowitz said, “Employee Stock Ownership Plans transform workers into stakeholders.”
The report also updates Congress on EBSA’s Division of Employee Ownership, created in 2023 under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. That law directed the department to establish an Employee Ownership Initiative to promote worker ownership and workplace participation.
EBSA oversees retirement, health, and other job-based benefits for more than 156 million workers, retirees, and their families. The agency monitors approximately 2.6 million health plans, 801,000 private retirement plans, and 514,000 additional welfare benefit plans holding about $13.8 trillion in assets.
Workers and employers can contact EBSA for assistance at askebsa.dol.gov or by calling 866-444-3272.
$81 Million for Reentry Employment Grants
On Tuesday, the department announced approximately $81 million in grant funding through its Reentry Employment in Skilled Trades, Advanced Manufacturing, Registered Apprenticeships, and Training initiative, known as RESTART.
The grants aim to help individuals leaving incarceration gain work experience and secure jobs in skilled trades and high-demand industries. The department said it will prioritize applicants focused on shipbuilding and those partnering with Registered Apprenticeship programs. Registered Apprenticeships are formal training programs that combine paid on-the-job learning with classroom instruction.
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said the program offers individuals with criminal backgrounds an opportunity to learn in-demand skills and find employment.
The department plans to fund up to 20 RESTART projects nationwide. Approximately $30 million is allocated for national or regional intermediary organizations serving youth and young adults, with up to $5.1 million per individual award. Remaining funds will go to states, territories, and tribes to support projects integrated with the public workforce system under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
Training services may include pre-apprenticeships, work-based learning, AI and digital literacy instruction, credential attainment, and paid work experiences.
Proposed Independent Contractor Rule
On Wednesday, the department’s Wage and Hour Division announced a proposed rule that would rescind its 2024 final rule on independent contractor classification and replace it with an analysis similar to one adopted in 2021.
The proposal would apply an “economic reality” test to determine whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act, or FLSA, or an independent contractor. The FLSA sets federal minimum wage and overtime standards.
Under the proposed rule, two “core factors” would guide the analysis: the nature and degree of control over the work, and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss based on initiative or investment. Additional factors include the skill required, the permanence of the working relationship, and whether the work is part of an integrated unit of production.
The proposal also states that the actual practice between the worker and the employer carries more weight than what a contract might theoretically allow.
Secretary Chavez-DeRemer said the proposed rule seeks to simplify compliance while maintaining protections for employees. Wage and Hour Division Administrator Andrew Rogers said the rule is intended to improve predictability and reduce litigation.
The proposal would also apply to the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act, which use the FLSA’s definition of “employ.”
The public comment period closes at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 28, 2026. Comments may be submitted during the 60-day window following publication.
Pharmacy Benefit Manager Disclosure Rule Extended
On Thursday, EBSA announced it is extending the public comment period for its proposed rule on pharmacy benefit manager, or PBM, fee disclosures until April 15.
PBMs are companies that manage prescription drug benefits on behalf of health plans. The proposed rule, titled Improving Transparency Into Pharmacy Benefit Manager Fee Disclosure, would require PBMs serving group health plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, to provide plan fiduciaries with detailed information about their compensation and financial arrangements.
Plan fiduciaries are individuals responsible for managing health or retirement plans in the best interest of participants.
EBSA said the extension follows the enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, which amended ERISA to include provisions related to pharmacy benefit management services. The department said additional time will allow stakeholders to comment on how to align the proposed rule with the new statutory requirements.
The formal notice of the extension will be published in the Federal Register on March 2.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.