29 U.S.C. § 1132 : US Code - Section 1132: Civil enforcement

Search 29 U.S.C. § 1132 : US Code - Section 1132: Civil enforcement

(a) Persons empowered to bring a civil action
A civil action may be brought -
(1) by a participant or beneficiary -
(A) for the relief provided for in subsection (c) of this
section, or
(B) to recover benefits due to him under the terms of his
plan, to enforce his rights under the terms of the plan, or to
clarify his rights to future benefits under the terms of the
plan;
(2) by the Secretary, or by a participant, beneficiary or
fiduciary for appropriate relief under section 1109 of this
title;
(3) by a participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary (A) to enjoin
any act or practice which violates any provision of this
subchapter or the terms of the plan, or (B) to obtain other
appropriate equitable relief (i) to redress such violations or
(ii) to enforce any provisions of this subchapter or the terms of
the plan;
(4) by the Secretary, or by a participant, or beneficiary for
appropriate relief in the case of a violation of 1025(c) of this
title;
(5) except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of this
section, by the Secretary (A) to enjoin any act or practice which
violates any provision of this subchapter, or (B) to obtain other
appropriate equitable relief (i) to redress such violation or
(ii) to enforce any provision of this subchapter;
(6) by the Secretary to collect any civil penalty under
paragraph (2), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of subsection (c) of this
section or under subsection (i) or (l) of this section;
(7) by a State to enforce compliance with a qualified medical
child support order (as defined in section 1169(a)(2)(A) of this
title);
(8) by the Secretary, or by an employer or other person
referred to in section 1021(f)(1) of this title, (A) to enjoin
any act or practice which violates subsection (f) of section 1021
of this title, or (B) to obtain appropriate equitable relief (i)
to redress such violation or (ii) to enforce such subsection; or
(9) in the event that the purchase of an insurance contract or
insurance annuity in connection with termination of an
individual's status as a participant covered under a pension plan
with respect to all or any portion of the participant's pension
benefit under such plan constitutes a violation of part 4 of this
title (!1) or the terms of the plan, by the Secretary, by any
individual who was a participant or beneficiary at the time of
the alleged violation, or by a fiduciary, to obtain appropriate
relief, including the posting of security if necessary, to assure
receipt by the participant or beneficiary of the amounts provided
or to be provided by such insurance contract or annuity, plus
reasonable prejudgment interest on such amounts.
(b) Plans qualified under Internal Revenue Code; maintenance of
actions involving delinquent contributions
(1) In the case of a plan which is qualified under section
401(a), 403(a), or 405(a) (!2) of title 26 (or with respect to
which an application to so qualify has been filed and has not been
finally determined) the Secretary may exercise his authority under
subsection (a)(5) of this section with respect to a violation of,
or the enforcement of, parts 2 and 3 of this subtitle (relating to
participation, vesting, and funding), only if -
(A) requested by the Secretary of the Treasury, or
(B) one or more participants, beneficiaries, or fiduciaries, of
such plan request in writing (in such manner as the Secretary
shall prescribe by regulation) that he exercise such authority on
their behalf. In the case of such a request under this paragraph
he may exercise such authority only if he determines that such
violation affects, or such enforcement is necessary to protect,
claims of participants or beneficiaries to benefits under the
plan.
(2) The Secretary shall not initiate an action to enforce section
1145 of this title.
(3) The Secretary is not authorized to enforce under this part
any requirement of part 7 against a health insurance issuer
offering health insurance coverage in connection with a group
health plan (as defined in section 1191b(a)(1) of this title).
Nothing in this paragraph shall affect the authority of the
Secretary to issue regulations to carry out such part.
(c) Administrator's refusal to supply requested information;
penalty for failure to provide annual report in complete form
(1) Any administrator (A) who fails to meet the requirements of
paragraph (1) or (4) of section 1166 (!2) of this title, section
1021(e)(1) of this title, or section 1021(f) of this title with
respect to a participant or beneficiary, or (B) who fails or
refuses to comply with a request for any information which such
administrator is required by this subchapter to furnish to a
participant or beneficiary (unless such failure or refusal results
from matters reasonably beyond the control of the administrator) by
mailing the material requested to the last known address of the
requesting participant or beneficiary within 30 days after such
request may in the court's discretion be personally liable to such
participant or beneficiary in the amount of up to $100 a day from
the date of such failure or refusal, and the court may in its
discretion order such other relief as it deems proper. For purposes
of this paragraph, each violation described in subparagraph (A)
with respect to any single participant, and each violation
described in subparagraph (B) with respect to any single
participant or beneficiary, shall be treated as a separate
violation.
(2) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty against any plan
administrator of up to $1,000 a day from the date of such plan
administrator's failure or refusal to file the annual report
required to be filed with the Secretary under section 1021(b)(4)
(!2) of this title. For purposes of this paragraph, an annual
report that has been rejected under section 1024(a)(4) of this
title for failure to provide material information shall not be
treated as having been filed with the Secretary.
(3) Any employer maintaining a plan who fails to meet the notice
requirement of section 1021(d) of this title with respect to any
participant or beneficiary or who fails to meet the requirements of
section 1021(e)(2) of this title with respect to any person or who
fails to meet the requirements of section 1082(d)(12)(E) of this
title with respect to any person may in the court's discretion be
liable to such participant or beneficiary or to such person in the
amount of up to $100 a day from the date of such failure, and the
court may in its discretion order such other relief as it deems
proper.
(4) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty of not more than
$1,000 a day for each violation by any person of section
1082(b)(7)(F)(vi) of this title.
(5) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty against any person
of up to $1,000 a day from the date of the person's failure or
refusal to file the information required to be filed by such person
with the Secretary under regulations prescribed pursuant to section
1021(g) of this title.
(6) If, within 30 days of a request by the Secretary to a plan
administrator for documents under section 1024(a)(6) of this title,
the plan administrator fails to furnish the material requested to
the Secretary, the Secretary may assess a civil penalty against the
plan administrator of up to $100 a day from the date of such
failure (but in no event in excess of $1,000 per request). No
penalty shall be imposed under this paragraph for any failure
resulting from matters reasonably beyond the control of the plan
administrator.
(7) The Secretary may assess a civil penalty against a plan
administrator of up to $100 a day from the date of the plan
administrator's failure or refusal to provide notice to
participants and beneficiaries in accordance with section 1021(i)
of this title. For purposes of this paragraph, each violation with
respect to any single participant or beneficiary shall be treated
as a separate violation.
(8) The Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall maintain such ongoing consultation as may be necessary and
appropriate to coordinate enforcement under this subsection with
enforcement under section 1320b-14(c)(8) (!2) of title 42.
(d) Status of employee benefit plan as entity
(1) An employee benefit plan may sue or be sued under this
subchapter as an entity. Service of summons, subpena, or other
legal process of a court upon a trustee or an administrator of an
employee benefit plan in his capacity as such shall constitute
service upon the employee benefit plan. In a case where a plan has
not designated in the summary plan description of the plan an
individual as agent for the service of legal process, service upon
the Secretary shall constitute such service. The Secretary, not
later than 15 days after receipt of service under the preceding
sentence, shall notify the administrator or any trustee of the plan
of receipt of such service.
(2) Any money judgment under this subchapter against an employee
benefit plan shall be enforceable only against the plan as an
entity and shall not be enforceable against any other person unless
liability against such person is established in his individual
capacity under this subchapter.
(e) Jurisdiction
(1) Except for actions under subsection (a)(1)(B) of this
section, the district courts of the United States shall have
exclusive jurisdiction of civil actions under this subchapter
brought by the Secretary or by a participant, beneficiary,
fiduciary, or any person referred to in section 1021(f)(1) of this
title. State courts of competent jurisdiction and district courts
of the United States shall have concurrent jurisdiction of actions
under paragraphs (1)(B) and (7) of subsection (a) of this section.
(2) Where an action under this subchapter is brought in a
district court of the United States, it may be brought in the
district where the plan is administered, where the breach took
place, or where a defendant resides or may be found, and process
may be served in any other district where a defendant resides or
may be found.
(f) Amount in controversy; citizenship of parties
The district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction,
without respect to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of
the parties, to grant the relief provided for in subsection (a) of
this section in any action.
(g) Attorney's fees and costs; awards in actions involving
delinquent contributions
(1) In any action under this subchapter (other than an action
described in paragraph (2)) by a participant, beneficiary, or
fiduciary, the court in its discretion may allow a reasonable
attorney's fee and costs of action to either party.
(2) In any action under this subchapter by a fiduciary for or on
behalf of a plan to enforce section 1145 of this title in which a
judgment in favor of the plan is awarded, the court shall award the
plan -
(A) the unpaid contributions,
(B) interest on the unpaid contributions,
(C) an amount equal to the greater of -
(i) interest on the unpaid contributions, or
(ii) liquidated damages provided for under the plan in an
amount not in excess of 20 percent (or such higher percentage
as may be permitted under Federal or State law) of the amount
determined by the court under subparagraph (A),
(D) reasonable attorney's fees and costs of the action, to be
paid by the defendant, and
(E) such other legal or equitable relief as the court deems
appropriate.
For purposes of this paragraph, interest on unpaid contributions
shall be determined by using the rate provided under the plan, or,
if none, the rate prescribed under section 6621 of title 26.
(h) Service upon Secretary of Labor and Secretary of the Treasury
A copy of the complaint in any action under this subchapter by a
participant, beneficiary, or fiduciary (other than an action
brought by one or more participants or beneficiaries under
subsection (a)(1)(B) of this section which is solely for the
purpose of recovering benefits due such participants under the
terms of the plan) shall be served upon the Secretary and the
Secretary of the Treasury by certified mail. Either Secretary shall
have the right in his discretion to intervene in any action, except
that the Secretary of the Treasury may not intervene in any action
under part 4 of this subtitle. If the Secretary brings an action
under subsection (a) of this section on behalf of a participant or
beneficiary, he shall notify the Secretary of the Treasury.
(i) Administrative assessment of civil penalty
In the case of a transaction prohibited by section 1106 of this
title by a party in interest with respect to a plan to which this
part applies, the Secretary may assess a civil penalty against such
party in interest. The amount of such penalty may not exceed 5
percent of the amount involved in each such transaction (as defined
in section 4975(f)(4) of title 26) for each year or part thereof
during which the prohibited transaction continues, except that, if
the transaction is not corrected (in such manner as the Secretary
shall prescribe in regulations which shall be consistent with
section 4975(f)(5) of title 26) within 90 days after notice from
the Secretary (or such longer period as the Secretary may permit),
such penalty may be in an amount not more than 100 percent of the
amount involved. This subsection shall not apply to a transaction
with respect to a plan described in section 4975(e)(1) of title 26.
(j) Direction and control of litigation by Attorney General
In all civil actions under this subchapter, attorneys appointed
by the Secretary may represent the Secretary (except as provided in
section 518(a) of title 28), but all such litigation shall be
subject to the direction and control of the Attorney General.
(k) Jurisdiction of actions against the Secretary of Labor
Suits by an administrator, fiduciary, participant, or beneficiary
of an employee benefit plan to review a final order of the
Secretary, to restrain the Secretary from taking any action
contrary to the provisions of this chapter, or to compel him to
take action required under this subchapter, may be brought in the
district court of the United States for the district where the plan
has its principal office, or in the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia.
(l) Civil penalties on violations by fiduciaries
(1) In the case of -
(A) any breach of fiduciary responsibility under (or other
violation of) part 4 of this subtitle by a fiduciary, or
(B) any knowing participation in such a breach or violation by
any other person,
the Secretary shall assess a civil penalty against such fiduciary
or other person in an amount equal to 20 percent of the applicable
recovery amount.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the term "applicable recovery
amount" means any amount which is recovered from a fiduciary or
other person with respect to a breach or violation described in
paragraph (1) -
(A) pursuant to any settlement agreement with the Secretary, or
(B) ordered by a court to be paid by such fiduciary or other
person to a plan or its participants and beneficiaries in a
judicial proceeding instituted by the Secretary under subsection
(a)(2) or (a)(5) of this section.
(3) The Secretary may, in the Secretary's sole discretion, waive
or reduce the penalty under paragraph (1) if the Secretary
determines in writing that -
(A) the fiduciary or other person acted reasonably and in good
faith, or
(B) it is reasonable to expect that the fiduciary or other
person will not be able to restore all losses to the plan (or to
provide the relief ordered pursuant to subsection (a)(9) of this
section) without severe financial hardship unless such waiver or
reduction is granted.
(4) The penalty imposed on a fiduciary or other person under this
subsection with respect to any transaction shall be reduced by the
amount of any penalty or tax imposed on such fiduciary or other
person with respect to such transaction under subsection (i) of
this section and section 4975 of title 26.
(m) Penalty for improper distribution
In the case of a distribution to a pension plan participant or
beneficiary in violation of section 1056(e) of this title by a plan
fiduciary, the Secretary shall assess a penalty against such
fiduciary in an amount equal to the value of the distribution. Such
penalty shall not exceed $10,000 for each such distribution.