High Country Times

Today, Tim Walberg, Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, addressed a letter to Larry D. Turner, Inspector General of the Department of Labor (DOL). The letter renews a request for an investigation into the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) following reports that it shared confidential information with a plaintiff's attorney.

Chairman Walberg expressed concerns in his letter: “As we saw in the first Trump administration, career bureaucrats have sought to undermine the goals of the President and his cabinet Secretaries. We know of cases where bureaucrats have leaked sensitive information or are working with plaintiffs’ attorneys to skew court cases against employers. The Committee’s oversight work recently brought to light how [EBSA] is abusing its authority to secretly share information with class action law firms. This is a blatant abuse of the law, and our Committee will hold EBSA accountable.”

The letter references Cohen Milstein Sellers and Toll, PLLC, noting their statement: “‘Against this backdrop [of employee benefit plans], common interest agreements between DOL and the private sector are common, legal and have been entered into by different administrations for decades.’ However, the plan sponsor community was unaware that EBSA was commonly feeding employee benefit plan information gathered during investigations to plaintiff law firms.”

Walberg's correspondence concludes with a request for continued review from the Office of Inspector General (OIG): “As the Committee begins its oversight for the 119th Congress, I request that the OIG continue to review the questions and concerns raised in the November 21, 2024, letter. Information from the OIG on this matter may provide important assistance to Congress in determining whether legislative changes are warranted.”

The background notes that on November 21, 2024, Chairwoman Emerita Virginia Foxx had initially requested an investigation into these allegations.