Advisory Opinions

Requests for interpretations and other rulings under Title 1 of ERISA are handled by the Office of Regulations and Interpretations under the provisions established by ERISA Procedure 76-1. The office answers inquiries from individuals and organizations in the form of advisory opinions, which apply the law to a specific set of facts, or information letters, which merely call attention to well established principles or interpretations.

Data Dictionary

Start Date

Select Reference

**1990**
AO/ Date/ Reference	Recipient	Description of Request
1990-17A 06/25/1990	Mr. David J. Cartano Barton, Klugman & Oetting 333 South Grand Avenue, 37th Floor Los Angeles, California 90071-1599	Whether the Employee Stock Purchase Plan provides retirement income or result in a deferral of income to termination of employment or beyond, and would be considered a pension plan within the meaning of section 3(2)(A) of ERISA.
1990-16A 05/31/1990 606	Mr. William A. Harding Heron, Burchette, Ruckert & Rothwell 500 The Atrium 1200 N Street P.O. Box 82028 Lincoln, Nebraska 68501	Whether a plan administrator, under certain circumstances, can be relieved of the notification requirements of the health care continuation provisions of Part 6 of title I, which were originally enacted by title X of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA).
1990-15A 05/14/1990 3(40) 514(b)	Ms. Sandra Milburn Texas State Board of Insurance 1110 San Jacinto Austin, Texas 78701-1998	Whether the Continental Association of Resolute Employers Trust (CARE Trust) is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA and whether the CARE Trust is a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) within the meaning of section 3(40) of that title.
1990-14A 05/08/1990 301(a)(3) 401(a)(1)	Mr. Arnold J. Zurcher, Jr. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft 100 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038	Whether Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) applies to a nonqualified plan of deferred compensation which CSX proposes to adopt and maintain primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for a select group of management or highly compensated employees.
1990-13A 05/10/1990	Mr. John P. Gallagher Schubert, Bellwoar, Mallon & Walheim 1330 Two Penn Center Plaza Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102-1890	Whether several employee benefit plans for individuals employed at the Gwynedd Mercy College constitute church plans within the meaning of section 3(33) of title I of ERISA and, accordingly, whether the plans are excluded from the requirements of title I of ERISA by section 4(b)(2) thereof.
1990-12A 05/10/1990	Mr. John J. Hunter Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young 2600 One Commerce Square Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103-7098	Whether the Uihleen Mercy Center's three employee benefit plans are church plans within the meaning of section 3(33) of title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and thereby excluded from the jurisdiction of the Department of Labor (the Department) by section 4(b)(2) of title I of ERISA.
1990-11A 04/25/1990 3(1) 3(4) 3(5)	Mr. Gerald R. Ortbals Greenfelder, Hemker, & Gale, PC 1800 Equitable Building 10 South Broadway St. Louis, Missouri 63102-1774	Whether the Missouri Pacific Employees' Health Association (MPEHA) is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA.
1990-10A 05/03/1990 3(40) 514(b)(6)	Ms. Mary Nance Texas State Board of Insurance 1110 San Jacinto Austin, Texas 78701-1998	Whether the MDPhysicians & Associates, Inc. Employee Benefit Plan (MDPEBP) is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA and whether MDPEBP is a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) within the meaning of section 3(40) of that title. Whether MDPEBP is subject to state regulation at least to the extent provided in section 514(b)(6)(A), regardless of whether it is an employee benefit plan covered by title I of ERISA, because it is a MEWA within the meaning of section 3(40) of that title.
1990-09A 04/25/1990 3(32)	Mr. Lloyd N. Moore, Jr. Leftwich Moore & Douglas 1133 Fifteenth Street, NW, Suite 1100 Washington, DC 20005-3922	Whether the Washington Convention Center Employees' Retirement Plan (the "Plan") is a "governmental plan" within the meaning of section 3(32) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA"), and whether the Plan is excluded from ERISA title I coverage by reason of section 4(b)(l) of ERISA.
1990-08A 04/11/1990 3(1) 3(5)	Mr. Alan P. Risden Manager, Corporate Financial Service Blue Cross/Blue Shield of West Virginia 200 Kanawha Boulevard, E. Charleston, West Virginia 25325	Whether Plan No. 506, Employee Accident and Sickness Program (Plan 506), which Blue Cross/Blue Shield of West Virginia (Blue Cross) offers to employees whose employers will make it available through payroll deductions, is an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of title I of ERISA.