7 U.S.C. § 4909: Petition and review

Summary

You may file a written petition with the Secretary if you are covered by a plan and believe the plan, part of it, or a related duty is not lawful. You can ask to change the plan or be excused, you must be given a hearing, and the Secretary will issue a ruling. If unhappy with that ruling, you can ask a U.S. district court where you live or have your main business to review it if you file within twenty days and deliver a copy of the complaint to the Secretary. If the court finds the ruling unlawful, it will send the case back with directions. Waiting on the petition does not stop relief under section 4910(a).

Title 7, §4909

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(a)Any person subject to a plan may file a written petition with the Secretary, stating that the plan or any provision of the plan, or any obligation imposed in connection therewith, is not in accordance with law and praying for a modification thereof or to be exempted therefrom. The person shall be given an opportunity for a hearing on the petition, in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. After the hearing, the Secretary shall make a ruling on the petition, which shall be final if in accordance with the law.

(b)The district courts of the United States in any district in which the person is an inhabitant, or in which the person’s principal place of business is located, are hereby vested with jurisdiction to review such ruling, provided that a complaint for that purpose is filed within twenty days from the date of the entry of the ruling. Service of process in such proceedings may be had on the Secretary by delivering to the Secretary a copy of the complaint. If the court determines that the ruling is not in accordance with law, it shall remand the proceedings to the Secretary with directions either to (1) make such ruling as the court shall determine to be in accordance with law, or (2) take such further proceedings as, in its opinion, the law requires. The pendency of proceedings instituted under subsection (a) shall not impede or delay the United States or the Secretary from obtaining relief under section 4910(a) of this title.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 4910(a) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original “section 1851(a)”, a nonexistent section in Pub. L. 99–198, and has been translated as if the reference had been to “section 1651(a)” to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

§4909 Petition and Review

Summary

Title 7, §4909

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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