Title: Family-Owned Business Multiemployer Pension Correction Act of 2017
Policy area: Labor and Employment

Summary:
Family-Owned Business Multiemployer Pension Correction Act of 2017
This bill directs the Department of the Treasury to establish a program to limit the liability of retail employers who do not employ more than 100 employees who are multiemployer pension plan participants (covered small employer) for withdrawing from a multiemployer pension plan to begin making contributions to a collectively bargained plan. A covered small employer is not eligible for such benefit unless Treasury determines that the affected multiemployer plan liabilities do not exceed 1% of total plan liabilities during a specified 3-year period.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3501 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3501

   To establish a procedure under which certain small employers may 
withdraw from a multiemployer plan in connection with the establishment 
                   of a collectively bargained plan.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2017

 Mr. Paulsen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
   Committee on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To establish a procedure under which certain small employers may 
withdraw from a multiemployer plan in connection with the establishment 
                   of a collectively bargained plan.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Family-Owned Business Multiemployer 
Pension Correction Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL BY CERTAIN SMALL EMPLOYERS FROM MULTIEMPLOYER PLANS 
              IN CONNECTION WITH ESTABLISHMENT OF A COLLECTIVELY 
              BARGAINED PLAN.

    (a) Determination of Eligibility.--
            (1) Period for making application.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
        the Treasury shall establish a program under which covered 
        small employers may, during the 1-year period beginning 6 
        months after the date that the Secretary establishes such 
        program, apply to have the Secretary determine the eligibility 
        of such employer for the benefits of subsection (d) with 
        respect to a multiemployer plan.
            (2) Deadline for determination.--Not later than 90 days 
        after the close of the 1-year period described in paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall notify each covered small employer 
        which applied under such program of whether such employer is 
        eligible for the benefits of subsection (d) with respect to the 
        multiemployer plan to which the employer's application relates.
    (b) Application.--
            (1) Contents of application.--Any application of a covered 
        small employer submitted under subsection (a)(1) shall 
        include--
                    (A) the name of such employer,
                    (B) the multiemployer plan with respect to which 
                such application relates,
                    (C) the total plan liabilities of such plan 
                determined as of the close of the last plan year ending 
                before the date of such application,
                    (D) the portion of the total plan liabilities of 
                such plan which are properly attributable to plan 
                participants with respect to which such employer is 
                required to contribute to such plan determined as of 
                the close of the plan year referred to in subparagraph 
                (C),
                    (E) the amounts described in paragraphs (C) and (D) 
                which are projected (on the basis of reasonable 
                actuarial assumptions) to be determined as of the close 
                of each of the 2 plan years succeeding the plan year 
                referred to in subparagraph (C),
                    (F) the address of each separate business location 
                of such employer at which plan participants are 
                employed by such employer,
                    (G) the highest number of such plan participants so 
                employed at each such separate business location on any 
                time during the 3-year period ending on the date of 
                such application, and
                    (H) such other information as the Secretary may 
                require.
            (2) User fees.--An application submitted by an employer 
        under subsection (a)(1) shall be treated as described in 
        section 7528(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and the 
        user fee imposed with respect to each such application shall be 
        $1,000 multiplied by the number of separate business locations 
        of such employer at which plan participants are employed by 
        such employer.
            (3) Additional information.--The Secretary may request such 
        additional information after submission of the application 
        described in paragraph (1) as the Secretary may require for 
        purposes of determining the employer's eligibility for the 
        benefits of subsection (d).
    (c) Standard for Making Eligibility Determination.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall not determine that any 
        covered small employer making application for the benefits of 
        subsection (d) with respect to any multiemployer plan is 
        eligible for such benefits unless the Secretary determines that 
        the aggregate affected plan liabilities of such plan do not 
        exceed 1 percent of the total plan liabilities of such plan 
        with respect to any of the 3 plan years beginning with the plan 
        year referred to in subsection (b)(1)(C) (determined as of the 
        close of each such year).
            (2) Aggregate affected plan liabilities.--For purposes of 
        paragraph (1), the term ``aggregate affected plan liabilities'' 
        means, with respect to any multiemployer plan, the aggregate 
        plan liabilities of such plan which are properly attributable 
        to plan participants with respect to one more employers who 
        applied for the benefits of subsection (d) with respect to such 
        plan.
    (d) Limitation on Withdrawal Liability.--
            (1) In general.--In the case of a covered small employer 
        which--
                    (A) is determined by the Secretary to be eligible 
                for the benefits of this subsection with respect to a 
                multiemployer plan to which such employer is required 
                to contribute, and
                    (B) is required to contribute (as determined by the 
                Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, in consultation 
                with the Secretary, immediately after the employer's 
                withdrawal from such multiemployer plan) to a 
                collectively bargained plan the plan participants of 
                which include all of the plan participants of such 
                multiemployer plan who were accruing benefits with 
                respect to such employer under such multiemployer plan 
                immediately before such withdrawal,
        section 4225(a) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act 
        of 1974 shall apply to such employer in the same manner as such 
        section applies in the case of a bona fide sale of 
        substantially all of the employer's assets in an arm's length 
        transaction to an unrelated party.
            (2) Application.--For purposes of title IV of the Employee 
        Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, a determination of 
        withdrawal liability pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be treated 
        as a determination made under such title.
            (3) Time limitation.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply with 
        respect to any withdrawal from a multiemployer plan by a 
        covered small employer if the date of such of withdrawal is 
        more than 3 years after the date of the notice described in 
        subsection (a)(2).
    (e) Definitions.--
            (1) Covered small employer.--The term ``covered small 
        employer'' means an employer--
                    (A) that is described in the North American 
                Industry Classification System industry sector for 
                retail trade; and
                    (B) that does not employ more than 100 plan 
                participants at any separate business location on any 
                day during the 3-year period ending on the date of the 
                application referred to in subsection (b).
            (2) Multiemployer plan.--The term ``multiemployer plan'' 
        has the meaning given such term in section 4001 of the Employee 
        Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
            (3) Collectively bargained plan.--The term ``collectively 
        bargained plan'' means a plan maintained pursuant to one or 
        more collective bargaining agreements between employee 
        representatives and one or more employers.
            (4) Secretary of the treasury.--The terms ``Secretary of 
        the Treasury'' and ``Secretary'' both mean the Secretary of the 
        Treasury (or his delegate), after consultation with the 
        Secretary of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
        Corporation.
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