Pub. L. 95-250, tit. II, sec. 204

Sec. 204. (a) The Secretary shall provide, to the maximum extent feasible, for retention and accrual of all rights and benefits which affected employees would have had in an employment with affected employers during the period in which they are affected employees. The Secretary is authorized and shall seek to enter into such agreements as he may deem to be appropriate with affected employees and employers, labor organizations representing covered employees, and trustees of applicable pension and welfare funds, or to take such other actions as he deems appropriate to provide for affected employees (including the benefits provided for in section 207(d)) the following rights and benefits: (1) retention and accrual of seniority rights, including recall rights (or, in the case of employees not covered by collective-bargaining agreements, application of the same preferences and 92 STAT. 176privileges based upon length of continuous service as are applied under the affected employer’s usual practices) under conditions no more burdensome to said employees than to those actively employed; and (2) continuing entitlement to health and welfare benefits and accrual of pension rights and credits based upon length of employment and/or amounts of earnings to the same extent as and at no greater cost to said employees than would have been applicable had they been actively employed. (b) The Secretary shall provide, additionally, for continuing entitlement to health and welfare benefits (other than group life and additional death, dismemberment, and loss of sight benefits) for employees who— (1) retired from employment with an affected employer for reasons other than disability on or after May 31, 1977, but not later than September 30, 1984; (2) are receiving pension benefits under a plan financed by industry employers; (3) were age sixty-two or older but less than age sixty-five at the time of retirement; and (4) are not eligible for benefits under title XVIII of the Social Security Act. (c) The agreements described in subsection (a) of this section shall provide for the Secretary, effective October 1, 1977. to make payments on behalf of eligible affected employees including employees eligible for the benefits provided for in section 207(d) to the applicable pension and welfare trust funds and to insurance companies. Such payments may be made in the form of grants and/or contributions equivalent to the difference between the amounts payable by their affected employers and labor organizations pursuant to collective-bargaining agreements (or, in the absence of such agreements, pursuant to established practice) and the amounts that would have been paid by their affected employers and their labor organizations had said employees worked or received pay for the periods for which they receive layoff benefits: Provided, That no payment shall be made to a pension fund on behalf of an employee who is receiving a pension from such fund. For purposes of determining the amounts of contributions calculated on the basis of worked or compensable hours, layoff and vacation replacement benefits shall be converted into the hours they represent in accordance with regulations to be issued by the Secretary. (d) No person shall be subject to liability under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. section 302 of the Labor-Management Relations Act, 1947, or any other law, solely by reason of the receipt of payments from the Secretary or the payment of benefits to affected employees in accordance with this section. Receipt of such payments and the payment of such benefits are deemed to be consistent with any relevant plan documents. No action taken pursuant to this section shall be deemed to place the Secretary in the position of an employer or a party in interest (including a fiduciary) for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.