§ 1451 TITLE 29—LABOR Page 576

cordance with regulations prescribed by the corporation, to discharge when due all of the plan’s

obligations with respect to nonforfeitable benefits.

(2) Any plan amendment required by this subsection shall, in accordance with regulations

prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury—

(A) reduce benefits only to the extent necessary to comply with paragraph (1);

(B) reduce accrued benefits only to the extent that those benefits are not eligible for the

corporation’s guarantee under section 1322a(b)

of this title;

(C) comply with the rules for and limitations

on benefit reductions under a plan in reorganization, as prescribed in section 1425 of this

title, except to the extent that the corporation prescribes other rules and limitations in

regulations under this section; and

(D) take effect no later than 6 months after

the end of the plan year for which it is determined that the value of nonforfeitable benefits

exceeds the value of the plan’s assets.

(d) Suspension of benefit payments; determinative factors; powers and duties of plan sponsor; retroactive benefit payments

(1) In any case in which benefit payments

under a plan which is insolvent under paragraph

(2)(A) exceed the resource benefit level, any such

payments which are not basic benefits shall be

suspended, in accordance with this subsection,

to the extent necessary to reduce the sum of

such payments and such basic benefits to the

greater of the resource benefit level or the level

of basic benefits, unless an alternative procedure is prescribed by the corporation in connection with a supplemental guarantee program established under section 1322a(g)(2) of this title.

(2) For purposes of this subsection, for a plan

year—

(A) a plan is insolvent if—

(i) the plan has been amended to reduce

benefits to the extent permitted by subsection (c) of this section, and

(ii) the plan’s available resources are not

sufficient to pay benefits under the plan

when due for the plan year; and

(B) ‘‘resource benefit level’’ and ‘‘available

resources’’ have the meanings set forth in

paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively, of section

1426(b) of this title.

(3) The plan sponsor of a plan which is insolvent (within the meaning of paragraph (2)(A))

shall have the powers and duties of the plan

sponsor of a plan in reorganization which is insolvent (within the meaning of section 1426(b)(1)

of this title), except that regulations governing

the plan sponsor’s exercise of those powers and

duties under this section shall be prescribed by

the corporation, and the corporation shall prescribe by regulation notice requirements which

assure that plan participants and beneficiaries

receive adequate notice of benefit suspensions.

(4) A plan is not required to make retroactive

benefit payments with respect to that portion of

a benefit which was suspended under this subsection, except that the provisions of section

1426(c)(4) and (5) of this title shall apply in the

case of plans which are insolvent under paragraph (2)(A), in connection with the plan year

during which such section 1341a(d) of this title

first became applicable to the plan and every

year thereafter, in the same manner and to the

same extent as such provisions apply to insolvent plans in reorganization under section 1426

of this title, in connection with insolvency years

under such section 1426 of this title.

(Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, §4281, as added Pub. L.

96–364, title I, §104(2), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat.

1261.)

EFFECTIVE DATE

Part effective Sept. 26, 1980, except as specifically

provided, see section 1461(e) of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 1053, 1054, 1322a,

1341a, 1361, 1431 of this title; title 26 section 411.

PART 6—ENFORCEMENT

§ 1451. Civil actions

(a) Persons entitled to maintain actions

(1) A plan fiduciary, employer, plan participant, or beneficiary, who is adversely affected

by the act or omission of any party under this

subtitle with respect to a multiemployer plan,

or an employee organization which represents

such a plan participant or beneficiary for purposes of collective bargaining, may bring an action for appropriate legal or equitable relief, or

both.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), this section

does not authorize an action against the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor,

or the corporation.

(b) Failure of employer to make withdrawal liability payment within prescribed time

In any action under this section to compel an

employer to pay withdrawal liability, any failure of the employer to make any withdrawal liability payment within the time prescribed shall

be treated in the same manner as a delinquent

contribution (within the meaning of section 1145

of this title).

(c) Jurisdiction of Federal and State courts

The district courts of the United States shall

have exclusive jurisdiction of an action under

this section without regard to the amount in

controversy, except that State courts of competent jurisdiction shall have concurrent jurisdiction over an action brought by a plan fiduciary to collect withdrawal liability.

(d) Venue and service of process

An action under this section may be brought

in the district where the plan is administered or

where a defendant resides or does business, and

process may be served in any district where a

defendant resides, does business, or may be

found.

(e) Costs and expenses

In any action under this section, the court

may award all or a portion of the costs and expenses incurred in connection with such action,

including reasonable attorney’s fees, to the prevailing party.

(f) Time limitations

An action under this section may not be

brought after the later of—
Page 577 TITLE 29—LABOR § 1461

(1) 6 years after the date on which the cause

of action arose, or

(2) 3 years after the earliest date on which

the plaintiff acquired or should have acquired

actual knowledge of the existence of such

cause of action; except that in the case of

fraud or concealment, such action may be

brought not later than 6 years after the date

of discovery of the existence of such cause of

action.

(g) Service of complaint on corporation; intervention by corporation

A copy of the complaint in any action under

this section or section 1401 of this title shall be

served upon the corporation by certified mail.

The corporation may intervene in any such action.

(Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, §4301, as added Pub. L.

96–364, title I, §104(2), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat.

1263.)

EFFECTIVE DATE

Part effective Sept. 26, 1980, except as specifically

provided, see section 1461(e) of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in sections 1303, 1401 of this

title; title 26 section 9721.

§ 1452. Penalty for failure to provide notice

Any person who fails, without reasonable

cause, to provide a notice required under this

subtitle or any implementing regulations shall

be liable to the corporation in an amount up to

$100 for each day for which such failure continues. The corporation may bring a civil action

against any such person in the United States

District Court for the District of Columbia or in

any district court of the United States within

the jurisdiction of which the plan assets are located, the plan is administered, or a defendant

resides or does business, and process may be

served in any district where a defendant resides,

does business, or may be found.

(Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, §4302, as added Pub. L.

96–364, title I, §104(2), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat.

1263.)

§ 1453. Election of plan status

(a) Authority, time, and criteria

Within one year after September 26, 1980, a

multiemployer plan may irrevocably elect, pursuant to procedures established by the corporation, that the plan shall not be treated as a

multiemployer plan for any purpose under this

chapter or the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, if

for each of the last 3 plan years ending prior to

the effective date of the Multiemployer Pension

Plan Amendments Act of 1980—

(1) the plan was not a multiemployer plan

because the plan was not a plan described in

section 1002(37)(A)(iii) of this title and section

414(f)(1)(C) of title 26 (as such provisions were

in effect on the day before September 26, 1980);

and

(2) the plan had been identified as a plan

that was not a multiemployer plan in substantially all its filings with the corporation, the

Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of the

Treasury.

(b) Requirements

An election described in subsection (a) of this

section shall be effective only if—

(1) the plan is amended to provide that it

shall not be treated as a multiemployer plan

for all purposes under this chapter and the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and

(2) written notice of the amendment is provided to the corporation within 60 days after

the amendment is adopted.

(c) Effective date

An election described in subsection (a) of this

section shall be treated as being effective as of

September 26, 1980.

(Pub. L. 93–406, title IV, §4303, as added Pub. L.

96–364, title I, §108(f), Sept. 26, 1980, 94 Stat. 1270.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(1), was

in the original ‘‘this Act’’, meaning Pub. L. 93–406,

known as the Employee Retirement Income Security

Act of 1974. Titles I, III, and IV of such Act are classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note

set out under section 1001 of this title and Tables.

The Internal Revenue Code of 1954, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (b)(1), was redesignated the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by Pub. L. 99–514, §2, Oct. 22, 1986, 100

Stat. 2095, and is classified to Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

For the effective date of the Multiemployer Pension

Plan Amendments Act of 1980, referred to in subsec. (a),

see section 1461(e) of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 1002 of this title;

title 26 section 414.

SUBTITLE F—TRANSITION RULES AND EFFECTIVE

DATES

AMENDMENTS

1980—Pub. L. 96–364, title I, §104(1), Sept. 26, 1980, 94

Stat. 1217, substituted ‘‘Subtitle F—Transition Rules

and Effective Dates’’ for ‘‘Subtitle E—Effective Date;

Special Rules’’.

§ 1461. Effective date; special rules

(a) The provisions of this subchapter take effect on September 2, 1974.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, the corporation shall

pay benefits guaranteed under this subchapter

with respect to any plan—

(1) which is not a multiemployer plan,

(2) which terminates after June 30, 1974, and

before September 2, 1974,

(3) to which section 1321 of this title would

apply if that section were effective beginning

on July 1, 1974, and

(4) with respect to which a notice is filed

with the Secretary of Labor and received by

him not later than 10 days after September 2,

1974, except that, for reasonable cause shown,

such notice may be filed with the Secretary of

Labor and received by him not later than October 31, 1974, stating that the plan is a plan

described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).

The corporation shall not pay benefits guaranteed under this subchapter with respect to a

plan described in the preceding sentence unless