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Title 29, LaborRelease 119-110

§1397 Application of Part in Case of Certain Pre-1980 Withdrawals; Adjustment of Covered Plan

Title 29 › CHAPTER 18 — EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT INCOME SECURITY PROGRAM › SUBCHAPTER III — PLAN TERMINATION INSURANCE › Subtitle E — Special Provisions for Multiemployer Plans › part 1 — employer withdrawals › § 1397

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Do not count an employer’s contributions or contribution units that are tied to work where the duty to contribute stopped for good before September 26, 1980. That covers work under a bargaining agreement that ended or work at a facility that stopped covered operations or stopped contributions before that date. Ignore those amounts when figuring unfunded vested benefits for any partial or full withdrawal after September 25, 1980 or when deciding if a partial withdrawal happened after that date. A plan may adjust the unfunded vested benefits charged to other employers, so long as it follows rules set by the corporation.

Full Legal Text

Title 29, §1397

Labor, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For the purpose of determining the amount of unfunded vested benefits allocable to an employer for a partial or complete withdrawal from a plan which occurs after September 25, 1980, and for the purpose of determining whether there has been a partial withdrawal after such date, the amount of contributions, and the number of contribution base units, of such employer properly allocable—
(1)to work performed under a collective bargaining agreement for which there was a permanent cessation of the obligation to contribute before September 26, 1980, or
(2)to work performed at a facility at which all covered operations permanently ceased before September 26, 1980, or for which there was a permanent cessation of the obligation to contribute before that date,
shall not be taken into account.
(b)A plan may, in a manner not inconsistent with regulations, which shall be prescribed by the corporation, adjust the amount of unfunded vested benefits allocable to other employers under a plan maintained by an employer described in subsection (a).

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–369, § 558(b)(1)(A), (B), substituted “
September 25, 1980” for “
April 28, 1980” in provisions preceding par. (1) and “
September 26, 1980” for “
April 29, 1980” in pars. (1) and (2).

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

29 U.S.C. § 1397

Title 29, Labor

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110