DOL Fiduciary Rule Hearings to Be Held on Quick Timeline With Limited Testimony

Labor Department headquarters in Washington. (Photo: Mike Scarcella/ALM)

The upcoming early September hearings on the Labor Department’s fiduciary prohibited transaction exemption to align with the Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation Best Interest will differ from those held for the now-defunct fiduciary rule.

After declining to hold hearings, Labor reversed its position on Aug. 21, stating that it would hold hearings on its fiduciary rule on Sept. 3 and, if necessary, Sept. 4.

The hearing notice for the 2015 Obama administration fiduciary rule, which was vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, was published over a month in advance and provided more than a month to submit requests to testify.

The Trump administration hearing notice was published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, less than two weeks before the hearing, and provides less than a week to submit requests to testify.

The Trump administration is also limiting testimony to those who submitted a comment or requested a hearing.

A Labor spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor that the deadline for hearing requests is midnight Friday.

The Trump administration states in its hearing notice: “Outlines should present material factual issues and demonstrate that the proposed testimony is both germane to factual issues needing exploration at the hearing that could not have been submitted in writing, and not duplicative of arguments and factual material previously included in the requestor’s comment letter.”

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