Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 94 Part 1.djvu/1289

 PUBLIC LAW 96-364—SEPT. 26, 1980

94 STAT. 1239

"APPROVAL OF AMENDMENTS

"SEC. 4220. (a) Except as provided in subsection fl)), if an amendment to a multiemployer plan authorized by any preceding section of this part is adopted more than 36 months after the effective date of this section, the amendment shall be effective only if the corporation approves the amendment, or, within 90 days after the corporation receives notice and a copy of the amendment from the plan sponsor, fails to disapprove the amendment. "(b) An amendment permitted by section 4211(c)(5) may be adopted only in accordance with that section. "(c) The corporation shall disapprove an amendment referred to in subsection (a) or (b) only if the corporation determines that the amendment creates an unreasonable risk of loss to plem participants and beneficiaries or to the corporation.

29 USC 1400.

"RESOLUTION OP DISPUTES

"SEC. 4221. (a)(1) Any dispute between an employer and the plan sponsor of a multiemployer plan concerning a determination made under sections 4201 through 4219 shall be resolved through arbitration. Either party may initiate the arbitration proceeding within a 60-day period after the earlier of— "(A) the date of notification to the employer under section 4219(b)(2)(B), or "(B) 120 days after the date of the employer's request under section 4219(b)(2)(A). The parties may jointly initiate arbitration within the 180-day period after the date of the plan sponsor's demand under section 4219(b)(1). "(2) An arbitration proceeding under this section shall be conducted in accordance with fair and equitable procedures to be promulgated by the corporation. The plan sponsor may purchase insurance to cover potential liability of the arbitrator. If the parties have not provided for the costs of the arbitration, including arbitrator's fees, by agreement, the arbitrator shall assess such fees. The arbitrator may also award reasonable attorney's fees. "(3)(A) For purposes of any proceeding under this section, any determination made by a plan sponsor under sections 4201 through 4219 and section 4225 is presumed correct unless the party contesting the determination shows by a preponderance of the evidence that the determination was unreasonable or clearly erroneous. "(B) In the case of the determination of a plan's unfunded vested benefits for a plan year, the determination is presumed correct unless a party contesting the determination shows by a preponderance of evidence that— "(i) the actuarial assumptions and methods used in the determination were, in the aggregate, unreasonable (taking into account the experience of the plan and reasonable expectations), or "(ii) the plan's actuary made a significant error in applying the actuarial assumptions or methods. "(b)(1) If no arbitration proceeding has been initiated pursuant to subsection (a), the amounts demanded by the plan sponsor under section 4219(b)(1) shall be due and owing on the schedule set forth by the plan sponsor. The plan sponsor may bring an action in a State or Federal court of competent jurisdiction for collection. "(2) Upon completion of the arbitration proceedings in favor of one of the parties, any party thereto may bring an action, no later than 30

29 USC I40i. Ante, p. 1217.

Arbitration, proceedings.

�