Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2017

To amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 and the National Labor Relations Act to protect the health benefits of retirees, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2017 2. Notification of extent to which health benefits can be modified or terminated (a) Inclusion in summary plan description Section 102(b) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1022 ; in the case of a group health plan (as so defined), whether the provisions of the plan permit the plan sponsor or any employer participating in the plan to unilaterally modify or terminate the benefits under the plan with respect to employees, retired employees, and beneficiaries, and when and to what extent benefits under the plan are fully vested with respect to employees, retired employees, and beneficiaries the name and address of such issuer (b) Presumption that retired employee health benefits cannot be modified or terminated Section 502 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ( 29 U.S.C. 1132 (n) In the case of a suit brought under this title by a participant or beneficiary relating to benefits of a retired employee or the dependents of a retired employee under a group health plan (as defined in section 733(a)(1)), the presumption for purposes of such suit shall be that as of the date an employee retires or completes 20 years of service with the employer, benefits available under the plan during retirement of the employee are fully vested and cannot be modified or terminated for the life of the employee or, if longer, the life of the employee's spouse. This presumption can be overcome only upon a showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that the terms of the group health plan allow for a modification or termination of benefits available under the plan and that the employee, prior to becoming a participant in the plan, was made aware, in clear and unambiguous terms, that the plan allowed for such modification or termination of benefits. . 3. Protection of retirees under certain collectively bargained agreements Section 8 of the National Labor Relations Act ( 29 U.S.C. 158 (h) It shall be an unfair labor practice for any labor organization and any employer to enter into any contract or agreement, express or implied, whereby the organization and employer agree to modify the terms of any previous agreement in a manner that would result in a reduction or termination of retiree health insurance benefits provided to an employee or a dependent of an employee under the previous agreement, if such modification of the terms of the previous agreement occurs after the date on which the employee retires. .

Summary: Employee Benefits Protection Act of 2017 This bill amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to require the mandatory summary description of a group health plan to specify: (1) whether the plan permits either the plan sponsor or any participating employer to unilaterally modify or terminate plan benefits affecting employees, retirees, and beneficiaries; and (2) when and to what extent plan benefits are fully vested with respect to these individuals. In law suits involving group health plan benefits, a presumption is established that as of the date an employee retires or completes 20 years of service with the employer, retiree health benefits are fully vested and cannot be modified or terminated. This presumption may be overcome only upon a showing that the employee, before becoming a plan participant, was made aware that the plan allowed for a modification or termination of benefits. The bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to make it an unfair labor practice for a labor organization and any employer to enter into an agreement to modify a previous agreement in a manner that results in a reduction or termination of retiree health insurance benefits, if the modification occurs after the retiree's retirement date.