Following extensive challenges from industry and certain congressional representatives, the Department of Energy has decided June 22 it will not reissue its controversial policy affecting employee pension and medical benefit costs for its maintenance and operations contractors.  The abandoned policy change, announced April 2006 and suspended in June 2006, would have continued reimbursing M&O contractor employees’ costs for pension and medical plans under their contract provisions but would have required market-based pension plans (i.e. 401K plans only) and medical benefits for new employees. The April 2006 announcement generated significant opposition and was suspended in June to enable stakeholders to put forth more comments and more discussions. In announcing its decision to not reissue the policy, DOE said it will continue to discuss “benefit challenges with its stakeholders.”

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