29 C.F.R. § 2570.43 — Notification of interested persons by applicant.

(a) If, as set forth in the exemption application, the notification that an applicant intends to provide to interested persons upon publication of a notice of proposed exemption in the Federal Register is inadequate, the Department will so inform the applicant and will secure the applicant's written agreement to provide what it considers to be adequate notice under the circumstances.

(b) If a notice of proposed exemption is published in the Federal Register in accordance with § 2570.42 of this part, the applicant must notify interested persons of the pendency of the exemption in the manner and time period specified in the application or in any superseding agreement with the Department. Any such notification must include:

(1) A copy of the notice of proposed exemption; and

(2) A supplemental statement in the following form:

You are hereby notified that the United States Department of Labor is considering granting an exemption from the prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act of 1986. The exemption under consideration is explained in the enclosed Notice of Proposed Exemption. As a person who may be affected by this exemption, you have the right to comment on the proposed exemption by [date]. ¹ [If you may be adversely affected by the grant of the exemption, you also have the right to request a hearing on the exemption by [date].] ²

¹ The applicant will write in this space the date of the last day of the time period specified in the notice of proposed exemption.

² To be added in the case of an exemption that provides relief from section 406(b) of ERISA or corresponding sections of the Code or FERSA.

Comments or requests for a hearing should be addressed to: Office of Exemption Determinations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, room ___, ³ U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20210, ATTENTION: Application No. ___. ⁴

³ The applicant will fill in the room number of the Division of Exemptions. As of the date of this final regulation, the room number of the Division of Exemptions was N-5671.

⁴ The applicant will fill in the exemption application number, which is stated in the notice of proposed exemption, as well as in all correspondence from the Department to the applicant regarding the application.

The Department will make no final decision on the proposed exemption until it reviews all comments received in response to the enclosed notice. If the Department decides to hold a hearing on the exemption before making its final decision, you will be notified of the time and place of the hearing.

(c) The method used to furnish notice to interested persons must be reasonably calculated to ensure that interested persons actually receive the notice. In all cases, personal delivery and delivery by first-class mail will be considered reasonable methods of furnishing notice.

(d) After furnishing the notice required by this section, an applicant must provide the Department with a statement confirming that notice was furnished to the persons and in the manner and time designated in its exemption application or in any superseding agreement with the Department. This statement must be accompanied by a declaration under penalty of perjury attesting to the truth of the information provided in the statement and signed by a person qualified under § 2570.34(b)(5) of these procedures to sign such a declaration. No exemption will be granted until such a statement and its accompanying declaration have been furnished to the Department.