Employee Relations Law Journal | The Department of Labor’s Final Rule Creates a New Electronic Disclosure Safe Harbor for Employee Retirement Plans

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued final regulations creating a new safe harbor for electronic delivery of required disclosure documents pertaining to employee retirement plans (the “Final Rule”). In 2002, the DOL established its first electronic safe harbor (the “2002 Safe Harbor”) for disclosing certain plan materials as required under Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”). However, as internet and email use have increasingly permeated society, stakeholders have criticized the 2002 Safe Harbor for being too limited by relying on outdated assumptions and practices.