Tap any paragraph to write a margin note. Your notes collect in the Desk below the text and file under cases with @. The side-by-side margin rail opens on a larger screen.

Code · BILL · 117th Congress · S. 2446 (Introduced in Senate) — To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 to provide for greater spousal protection under defined... · Sec. 4

Sec. 4. Improving coverage for part-time workers

1,134 words·~5 min read·/bill/117/s/2446/is/section-4

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Section 202 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1052 ) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: A pension plan that includes either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement (as defined in section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) or a salary reduction agreement (as described in section 403(b) of such Code) shall not require, as a condition of participation in the arrangement or agreement, that an employee complete a period of service with the employer (or employers) maintaining the plan extending beyond the close of the earlier of— the period permitted under subsection (a)(1) (determined without regard to subparagraph (B)(i) thereof); or the first 24-month period— consisting of 2 consecutive 12-month periods during each of which the employee has at least 500 hours of service; and by the close of which the employee has attained the age of 21.
Paragraph (1)(B) shall not apply to employees who are included in a unit of employees covered by an agreement which the Secretary finds to be a collective bargaining agreement between employee representatives and 1 or more employers, if there is evidence that retirement benefits were the subject of good faith bargaining between such employee representatives and such employer or employers. In the case of employees who are eligible to participate in the arrangement or agreement solely by reason of paragraph (1)(B):
An employer may elect to exclude such employees from the application of subsections (a)(4), (k)(3), (k)(12), (k)(13), (k)(15)(B)(iv), (k)(15)(B)(i)(I), and (m)(2) of section 401 of such Code and section 410(b) of such Code. The rules of subsection (a)(4) shall apply to such employees. An employer may elect to exclude all employees who are eligible to participate in a plan maintained by the employer solely by reason of paragraph (1)(B) from the application of the vesting and benefit requirements under subsections
(b)and
(c)of section 416 of such Code. For purposes of this subsection, 12-month periods shall be determined in the same manner as under the last sentence of subsection (a)(3)(A), except that 12-month periods beginning before January 1, 2021, shall not be taken into account. . Section 203(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1053(a) ) is amended by redesignating paragraph
(4)as paragraph
(5)and by inserting after paragraph
(3)the following new paragraph: For purposes of determining whether an employee who is eligible to participate in a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a salary reduction agreement under a plan solely by reason of section 202(c)(1)(B) has a nonforfeitable right to employer contributions— except as provided in subparagraph (B), each 12-month period for which the employee has at least 500 hours of service shall be treated as a year of service; paragraph
(3)shall be applied by substituting at least 500 hours of service for more than 500 hours of service in subparagraph
(A)thereof; and 12-month periods occurring before the 24-month period described in section 202(c)(1)(B) shall not be treated as years of service. For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods shall be determined in the same manner as under the last sentence of section 202(a)(3)(A), except that 12-month periods beginning before January 1, 2021, shall not be taken into account. . Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1132 ), is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: In the case of a plan that fails to permit participation as required by section 202(c), the Secretary may assess a civil penalty against the plan sponsor in an amount equal to $10,000 per year per employee to whom such failure relates. The Secretary may, in the Secretary’s sole discretion, waive or reduce the penalty under this subsection if the Secretary determines that the plan sponsor acted reasonably and in good faith. . Section 410(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: In the case of a plan that includes either a qualified cash or deferred arrangement (as defined in section 401(k)) or a salary reduction agreement (as described in section 403(b)), a trust of which such plan is a part shall not constitute a qualified trust under section 401(a) if the plan requires, as a condition of participation in the plan or arrangement, that an employee complete a period of service with the employer (or employers) maintaining the plan extending beyond the close of the earlier of— the period permitted under paragraph
(1)(determined without regard to subparagraph (B)(i) thereof), or the first 24-month period— consisting of 2 consecutive 12-month periods during each of which the employee has at least 500 hours of service, and by the close of which the employee has attained the age of 21. Subparagraph (A)(ii) shall not apply to employees who are included in a unit of employees covered by an agreement which the Secretary of Labor finds to be a collective bargaining agreement between employee representatives and 1 or more employers, if there is evidence that retirement benefits were the subject of good faith bargaining between such employee representatives and such employer or employers. In the case of employees who are eligible to participate in the arrangement or agreement solely by reason of subparagraph (A)(ii)— An employer may elect to exclude such employees from the application of subsection
(b)and of subsections (a)(4), (k)(3), (k)(12), (k)(13), (k)(15)(B)(iv), (k)(15)(B)(i)(I), and (m)(2) of section 401. The rules of paragraph
(4)shall apply to such employees. An employer may elect to exclude all employees who are eligible to participate in a plan maintained by the employer solely by reason of subparagraph (A)(ii) from the application of the vesting and benefit requirements under subsections
(b)and
(c)of section 416. For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods shall be determined in the same manner as under the last sentence of paragraph (3)(A), except that 12-month periods beginning before January 1, 2021, shall not be taken into account. For purposes of determining whether an employee who is eligible to participate in a qualified cash or deferred arrangement or a salary reduction agreement under a plan solely by reason of paragraph (6)(A)(ii) has a nonforfeitable right to employer contributions— except as provided in subparagraph (B), each 12-month period for which the employee has at least 500 hours of service shall be treated as a year of service, section 411(a)(6) shall be applied by substituting at least 500 hours of service for more than 500 hours of service in subparagraph
(A)thereof, and 12-month periods occurring before the 24-month period described in paragraph (6)(A)(ii) shall not be treated as years of service. For purposes of this paragraph, 12-month periods shall be determined in the same manner as under paragraph (6)(D). .
Connectionstraces to 3
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 4
Improving coverage for part-time workers
Cites 3Cited by 0 across 0 sources
★   the supreme law of the land   ★
Don't Tread on Me
E Pluribus Unum — out of many, one

"If you don't know your rights, you don't have any."

Marginalia · a citizen's law index
A research desk, not legal advice. Always read the cited source before relying on a summary.
Questions or an issue? support@self-law.org
disclaimerMarginalia is a research index, not a law firm. Nothing on this site is legal, tax, or financial advice and no attorney–client relationship is formed by using it. Statutes, regulations, and case law change; summaries, search results, AI output, and member posts may be incomplete, out of date, or wrong. Any interpretation drawn from material on this site should be validated by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction before you act on it.