18 Trade Groups Press DOL to Extend Fiduciary Rule Comment Period

DOL then held a public hearing, followed by a 15-day comment period for response.

“For the 2016 Fiduciary Rule and Related Exemptions, DOL allowed a 75-day comment period and granted a 15-day extension,” the groups told Lisa Gomez, assistant secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration. “After a public hearing, there was then another 15-day comment period.”

Labor should again provide at least a similar comment period, “especially for a proposal that is nearly 500 pages long,” the groups wrote.

Publishing the proposed rule in the Federal Register means that the comment period will fall over multiple federally recognized holidays, the groups added. “This only further complicates and limits the ability of industry stakeholders and other interested parties to provide meaningful input” on the proposed rule.

Holding a public hearing approximately 45 days after the proposed rule’s publication “effectively shortens the 60-day comment period for those who request to testify at the hearing because they will need to prepare their comments in time for the hearing,” the groups contend.

A hearing “after the end of the comment period would allow for DOL to ask questions about the comments that they have received, fostering clarification and better understanding,” the groups told Gomez. “Commenters would also be able to provide feedback to the department on the input provided by others.”

The groups urged DOL to grant at least a 60-day extension of the comment period for the and to schedule the public hearing for a date after the initial comment period closes, followed by an additional 30-day comment period.