Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—EBSA advises that Idaho Farm Bureau health plan would be ERISA-covered, (May 6, 2026)

By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.

In an advisory opinion it concludes that the proposed consortium arrangement meets the definition of an employee welfare benefit plan.

The Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has issued an advisory opinion concluding that a proposed group health insurance plan sponsored by the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation would be treated as an employee welfare benefit plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The opinion addresses whether the plan could be considered established or maintained by a bona fide group or association of employers and whether it would also constitute a multiple employer welfare arrangement. The guidance applies the ERISA Title I framework to a detailed set of facts regarding the structure, governance, and membership of the proposed plan.

Proposal. The Idaho Farm Bureau Federation is a nonprofit federation of 39 county farm bureaus in Idaho that has operated since 1942. Its membership consists of farmers, ranchers, and tenants or landlords engaged in producing agricultural products in the state. Membership in a county farm bureau automatically confers membership in the statewide federation, and only certain “regular” members may vote or serve in governance roles.

The federation proposed to establish both an employer consortium and a related health plan that would offer fully insured group health coverage through Blue Cross of Idaho Health Service, Inc. Participation in the plan would be limited to federation members who are actively engaged in agricultural production in Idaho, employ at least two full-time employees, and execute a participation agreement. By entering into the agreement, participating employers would also become members of the consortium that would sponsor the plan.

Under the described structure, the consortium would be designated as the plan sponsor for ERISA purposes. Fiduciary and administrative authority would be delegated to a benefits committee that would also serve as the governing body of the consortium. The benefits committee would consist of employees of participating employers and would be elected by those employers, with authority to manage and administer both the consortium and the plan. Termination of the plan would require approval by the committee and a two-thirds vote of participating employers.

DOL analysis. In analyzing whether the plan would be established or maintained by an employer within the meaning of ERISA, the EBSA applied its long-standing criteria for identifying a bona fide group or association of employers. These factors include the purpose and formation of the association, the commonality of interest among participating employers, and whether those employers exercise control over the plan in both form and substance. The EBSA emphasized that a genuine organizational relationship must exist that is unrelated to the provision of benefits.

Based on the facts presented, the EBSA stated that the federation was formed for purposes other than providing insurance and engages in substantial activities advancing the shared interests of Idaho’s agricultural community. Participation in the consortium and plan would be limited to employer members of the federation with employees, and governance documents would vest control of the plan solely in the participating employers through their authority over the benefits committee.

Assuming the governing documents are adopted as described, the EBSA concluded that the participating employers would constitute, at least in form, a bona fide group or association of employers under ERISA Section 3(5). As a result, the proposed health plan would constitute an employee welfare benefit plan subject to Title I of ERISA. The EBSA noted, however, that whether the employers exercise control in substance over the consortium and plan is a factual issue on which it does not opine in an advisory opinion.

Companies: Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

News: AgencyNews LaborNews Labor PensionBenefitPlans BenefitsNews IndustryNewsTrends