Good News for Employers! The 9th Circuit recently confirmed that a plan’s ERISA obligation to provide plan documents upon a participant’s request is limited to those documents that “provide individual participants with information about the plan and benefits.”
The obligation does not extend to documents, such as service agreements, that govern the relationship between the company and vendors that provide plan services unless those documents govern benefits to which participants are entitled.
As a reminder, failure to provide requested plan documents within 30 days of the request results in a penalty of $110 per day.
Requests from participants often include a request for service agreements. This decision confirms that those agreements generally need not be provided as long as the service agreements do not include terms governing benefits.
Companies should confirm with ERISA counsel that their service agreements satisfy this threshold.
A copy of the decision is available here: 24-4156.pdf