UA Law Professor Named To National Advisory Council

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Norman P. Stein, professor in The University of Alabama School of Law, was recently named to the U.S. Secretary of Labor’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Plans.

Stein will fill one of three general public positions on the council. He is a long-time advocate of the American worker, especially on benefits issues. Stein runs the only advocacy clinic for pension and health plan participants in the Southeast, funded by the U.S. Administration on Aging. Stein has often appeared as a witness before previous Advisory Council working groups.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) provides for the establishment of an Advisory Council to make recommendations to the department on current employee benefit issues. The council consists of 15 members appointed by the secretary of labor to serve staggered three-year terms. According to this statute, the 15 positions on the council are to represent various constituencies with interests in ERISA plans, including employers, employees, the general public, actuarial, accounting, corporate trust, investment counseling and management and insurance fields.

The other newly appointed members of the council include Dr. Shlomo Benartzi of the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, Thomas M. McMahon of the Pacific Maritime Association, Ronnie Sue Thierman of the William Mercer health care and group benefits practice in San Francisco, and Robert P. Patrician of the Communications Workers of America.