Westlaw has recently added another ERISA treatise to their collection of ERISA databases. ERISA Practice and Procedure (ERISA-PP) covers the law and practical aspects of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 such as reporting and disclosure requirements, participation, vesting and benefit accrual, fiduciary responsibility and withdrawal liability among other areas.

Some other ERISA databases are:

Treatises:

• Employee Fringe and Welfare Benefit Plans (EMPFRINGE) -- 2004 edition, by Michael J. Canan and William D. Mitchell.

Opinion Letters:

• Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits-ERISA Opinion Letters (FPEN-ERISA) -- Opinions letters from the U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA, (formerly PWBA) beginning in 1974.

• Federal Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration Information Letters (FPEN-PWBAIL) -- Information letters from the U.S. Department of Labor, EBSA (formerly PWBA) beginning with selective coverage in 1977 and full coverage starting in 1992. FPEN-PWBA combines documents from FPEN-ERISA and FPEN-PWBAIL.

• Federal Pension and Retirement Benefits-Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (FPEN-PBGC) -- Coverage begins with 1974 of opinion letters responding to inquiries regarding the effect of Title IV of ERISA on pension programs overseen by PBGC.

Legislative History:

• Arnold & Porter Legislative History: Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA-LH) --Comprehensive legislative history of PL 93-406 including the text of bills, committee reports, hearings and other documents.

Journals & Newsletters:

• Employee Benefit News (EMPBENEWS) -- EBN is a monthly magazine published by Securities Data Publishing. Coverage begins with January 1998 and covers cost-effective employee benefits programs, health and retirement plans, governmental activity and case studies of innovative programs.

• Employee Benefits Journal (EMPBUSJ) -- EBJ is a quarterly journal published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans that provides information regarding effective management of employee benefit plans. Coverage begins with March 1997 and contains abstracts as well as full text articles.

• Compensation & Benefits Update (CB-UPDATE) -- CBU is a biweekly newsletter that covers compliance with tax and benefits rules. It also focuses on the latest trends and developments in employment and equal opportunity law.

• ERISA Litigation Reporter (GLERISALR) -- ELR is a bimonthly newsletter that covers developments relating to ERISA including benefits claims, class actions, fiduciary responsibility, etc. Coverage begins with Volume 8 (April 2000). Also, ERISA Litigation Reporter (ERISALR) covers substantive documents that appeared in the bimonthly publication with selected coverage from Volume 1 (1992) through Volume 7 (1998).

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• M. Lee Smith Publishers Newsletters Multibase (SMITH) -- This database contains all of the Smith newsletters on Westlaw that cover developments in various areas of state specific employment, environmental and health law including ERISA. You can also search a specific state by using the state abbreviation in the database identifier following this format SM--EMPLL. Replace the dashes with the state abbreviation, i.e. SMAZEMPLL for Arizona. There is also a Federal Employment Law Insider and the database identifier is SMFEDEMPLIN.

This is just an overview of some of the major ERISA databases available on Westlaw and may not include all the databases that are available. Others such as Corporate Compliance Series (CORPC-ERISA), HR Series Compensation and Benefits (HRS-CB) and RIA Benefits Analysis (RIA-BENAN) provide analysis, guidelines, suggestions and discussions regarding ERISA and requirements, benefits, and other resources.