Committee approves measure requiring DOL agreements when sharing investigatory assistance with plaintiffs' attorneys

The House Committee on Education and Labor voted to report HR 2958, known as the Balance the Scales Act, to the House after agreeing to an amendment in the nature of a substitute.

Sponsor Representative Ruhle said the bill would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require the Department of Labor to enter written agreements that define any “adverse assistance” the department gives to private attorneys in ERISA civil actions and to provide copies of those agreements to employers, plan sponsors or fiduciaries who might be affected. The bill also requires an annual report to Congress summarizing such agreements, with private-party identifying details redacted.

Ranking Member Scott opposed the bill on the grounds that the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) already has legal authority under ERISA to share information with affected parties; he said the reported instances are rare and that the committee should await ongoing Inspector General review rather than add statutory reporting burdens.

Representative Ruhle described the bill as restoring transparency after what he characterized as “misguided information sharing,” and said industry groups had expressed support.

The committee chair moved to report HR 2958 with the agreed substitute. A recorded vote was taken; the clerk announced the tally as 19 yeas and 16 nays and the committee’s motion to report the bill passed.

Committee debate focused on whether the bill would impose one‑sided reporting and disclosure burdens that could disadvantage workers and retirees in ERISA litigation, and on EBSA’s staffing and funding levels as context for the agency’s investigatory timelines.

The committee transmitted the bill and accompanying materials to the House.