The U.S. Department of Labor may be postponing implementation of some fiduciaryrule compliance rules and procedures, but it still expectsretirement advisors to provide impartial advice, and to act in thebest interests of consumers.

Related: See our DOL Fiduciary Rule page for morearticles

R. Alexander Acosta, the Labor secretary, testified Wednesday,at a hearing organized by the House Education and the WorkforceCommittee, that the DOL fiduciary rule is in effect, that theimpartial conduct standards, or best interest standards, tookeffect June 9, and that the DOL's Employee Benefits SecurityAdministration has the tools it needs to address material,willful violations of the standards.

"We still have enforcement authority," Acosta said.

The House Education and the Workforce Committee held the hearingto look at OL policies and priorities. The committee has postedmaterials related to the hearing, including a link to videorecording of the hearing, here.

Acosta told the committee that DOL has already draftedregulations describing how DOL would handle violations of thebest-interest standards and is putting the draft through a reviewat the Office of Management and Budget.

Companies would get an extension that would give them at least18 months to come into full compliance with the remedyrequirements, Acosta said.

At the hearing, Acosta also talked about other topics ofinterest to financial professionals in the employee benefitsmarket, such as efforts to help workers with disabilities and tohold down the cost of health benefits.

Acosta noted that October was National Disability EmploymentAwareness Month.

This year, the DOL Office of Disability Employment Policy isfocusing on apprenticeships, return-to-work programs, support forveterans with disabilities, and helping workers with autism, Acostasaid.

About health benefits, Acosta said DOL is working to expandsmall employers' access to multi-employer association health plans,to help the employers join together to bargain for cheapercoverage.