Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans; Nominations for Vacancies

Section 512 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 88 Stat. 895, 29 U.S.C. 1142, provides for the establishment of an Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (the Council), which is to consist of 15 members to be appointed by the Secretary of Labor (the Secretary) as follows: Three representatives of employee organizations (at least one of whom shall be a representative of an organization whose members are participants in a multiemployer plan); three representatives of employers (at least one of whom shall be a representative of employers maintaining or contributing to multiemployer plans); one representative each from the fields of insurance, corporate trust, actuarial counseling, investment counseling, investment management, and accounting; and three representatives from the general public (one of whom shall be a person representing those receiving benefits from a pension plan). No more than eight members of the Council shall be members of the same political party.

Council members shall be persons qualified to appraise the programs instituted under ERISA. Appointments are for terms of three years. The prescribed duties of the Council are to advise the Secretary with respect to the carrying out of his or her functions under ERISA, and to submit to the Secretary, or his or her designee, recommendations with respect thereto. The Council will meet at least four times each year.

The terms of five members of the Council expire at the end of this year. The groups or fields they represent are as follows: (1) Employee organizations; (2) employers; (3) insurance; (4) accounting; and (5) the general public. The Department of Labor is committed to equal opportunity in the workplace and seeks a broad-based and diverse Council.

Accordingly, notice is hereby given that any person or organization desiring to nominate one or more individuals for appointment to the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans to represent any of the groups or fields specified in the preceding paragraph may submit nominations to Larry Good, Council Executive Secretary, Frances Perkins Building, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Suite N-5623, Washington, DC 20210, or as email attachments to good.larry@dol.gov. Nominations (including supporting nominations) must be received on or before August 1, 2016. Please allow two weeks for regular mail delivery to the Department of Labor. If sending electronically, please use an attachment in rich text, Word, or pdf format. Nominations may be in the form of a letter, resolution or petition, signed by the person making the nomination or, in the case of a nomination by an organization, by an authorized representative of the organization.

Nominations, including supporting letters, should:

• State the person's qualifications to serve on the Council.
• State that the candidate will accept appointment to the Council if offered.
• Include which of the five positions (representing groups or fields) the candidate is nominated to fill.
• Include the nominee's full name, work affiliation, mailing address, phone number, and email address.
• Include the nominator's full name, mailing address, phone number, and email address.
• Include the nominator's signature, whether sent by email or otherwise.

Please do not include any information that you do not want publicly disclosed.

In selecting Council members, the Secretary of Labor will consider individuals nominated in response to this Federal Register notice, as well as other qualified individuals.

Nominees will be contacted to provide information on their political affiliation and their status as registered lobbyists. Anyone currently subject to federal registration requirements as a lobbyist is not eligible for appointment. Nominees should be aware of the time commitment for attending meetings and actively participating in the work of the Council. Historically, this has meant a commitment of at least 20 days per year. The Department of Labor has a process for vetting nominees under consideration for appointment.