ERISA A Federal Law Protecting Employees
By Michael Presley, Attorney
An accomplished attorney focused on health care law, Michael Presley works with clients as the owner of Presley Law & Associates, PA, in Wellington, Florida. With more than three and a half decades of experience as an attorney at law, Michael Presley has assisted clients with a variety of legal matters including medical malpractice claims and federal claims filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Passed by Congress in 1974, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) is a federal law that protects the interests of participants in employeesponsored retirement, health, and other benefit plans. A complicated area of law, ERISA is enforced and administered by the US Department of Labor, the Department of the Treasury, and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. ERISA laws only apply to pension and health insurance plans established voluntarily by privateindustry employers. While the act does not require that employers provide such coverage, it does set minimum standards that employers must abide by for the plan(s) they choose to offer. According to TASC, an established thirdparty provider of administrative services, ERISA sets compliance standards related to an employer’s conduct, reporting and accountability, disclosures, and procedural safeguards. The act also comprises
financial and bestinterest protection regulations to ensure that benefit plans are administered with all plan members’ best interests in mind.