S. 1677 117th Congress Senate

EMPOWERS Act

Official title: A bill to establish a process by which participants of employee welfare plans select guidelines to be used by the plan fiduciary for voting proxies on securiti… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill to establish a process by which participants of employee welfare plans select guidelines to be used by the plan fiduciary for voting proxies on securities held in investment portfolios under the plan, and for other purposes.

Introduced: May 18, 2021 Introduced by: Tammy Baldwin Democratic · Wisconsin See on congress.gov

Labor and Employment Administrative law and regulatory proceduresCorporate finance and managementDepartment of LaborEmployee benefits and pensions

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Financial services and investmentsLabor-management relationsSecurities

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

May 18, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

May 18, 2021

Introduced in Senate

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Latest action May 18, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Encouraging More Proxy voting by Organized Workers, Employees, and Retirement Savers Act or the EMPOWERS Act

This bill modifies the requirements for single-employer retirement plans with respect to the fiduciaries and proxy voting procedures for such plans.

Specifically, it requires the assets of such plans to be held in trust by a joint board of trustees that represents the interests of the employer and the interests of the plan participants and their beneficiaries on an equal basis.

Additionally, the trustees of each plan must undergo training and establish proxy voting guidelines for the plan. In exercising a plan's proxy voting rights, a fiduciary may consider (1) the investment objectives of the plan participants and their beneficiaries, and (2) certain effects of negative externalities generated by portfolio companies.

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