Disability claimants may get quick access to courts

In the proposed draft regulations, EBSA would set standards for a plan's internal appeals process, such as forbidding a plan from basing bonuses on a claim adjudicator's denial rate.

EBSA also would issue standards for benefit denial notices, let claimants respond to new information before denial reviews were completed, and let claimants file claims in the courts immediately if a plan made errors that failed to qualify for a "minor errors exception."

EBSA would classify an error as "non-minor" if it was found to be "reflective of a pattern or practice of non-compliance."

Now, courts usually defer to the judgment of the plan administrator and avoid reviewing claims from scratch. 

If a plan made a group disability plan that failed to qualify for the minor errors exception, a court could review the entire dispute from scratch, officials say.

EBSA identifies Frances Steen of the EBSA Office of Regulations and Interpretations as the contact person for the regulation.