How Did a Law With Such Good Intentions Turn Out So Bad?

When President Ford signed the Employee Retirement Income Act of 1974, a law commonly referred to as ERISA, on Labor Day 1974, he stated that the law “will probably give more benefits and rights and success in the area of labor-management than almost anything in the history of the country.” New York Republican Senator Jacob Javits, who helped get ERISA passed, told his fellow senators, ERISA “is the greatest development in the live of the American worker since social security.” Unfortunately, in the nearly 50 years since ERISA became law, the protections for employees’ rights have not been as strong as promised, while much of ERISA is used to protect employers and insurance companies. This deep-dive podcast explains more about how the rules under ERISA were developed and why they did not live up to the law’s early promise.