Oct. 1, 2019 will bring more than just a new month — it also will herald changes at the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.
According to the Groom Law Group, the changes will increase the number of deputy assistant secretaries who report to EBSA head Preston Rutledge from two to three. Groom adds that the reorganization also will change the way that EBSA’s oversight functions are allocated.
The reallocation will result in the following changes in the deputy assistant secretaries’ duties:
|
Deputy Assistant Secretary |
Current Duties |
Duties after Oct. 1, 2019 |
|
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary (political appointee) |
Directs EBSA policy, legislative, research functions |
Oversight of:
|
|
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations (comes from career staff) |
Oversight of program operations, including:
|
Deputy Assistant for the National Office; Oversight of:
|
|
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Offices (will come from career staff) |
— |
Oversight of EBSA’s 10 regional offices |
The reorganization will result in EBSA's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, who is a political appointee, taking on oversight of the Offices of Regulations and Interpretations and Exemption Determinations. Those functions are now overseen by Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Operations Timothy Hauser, a career staffer. As of Oct. 1, Hauser will take on a new role as Deputy Assistant for the National Office. The new Deputy Assistant Secretary for Regional Offices, who will oversee EBSA’s 10 regional offices, will also come from the ranks of career staffers.
