Investigative and Supervisory Jurisdiction

The Labor-Management Unit of the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, Criminal Division, has supervisory jurisdiction over 29 U.S.C. § 501 and 18 U.S.C. § 664.

By a Memorandum of Understanding dated January 18, 2005, between the Secretary of Labor and the Attorney General, criminal matters arising under 29 U.S.C. § 501(c) are investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Labor. A similar Memorandum of Understanding dated February 9, 1975, refers to the FBI’s authority to investigate violations of 18 U.S.C. § 664. The U.S. Department of Labor has statutory authority to investigate violations of 18 U.S.C. § 664 as part of its authority to investigate criminal violations related to title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 to 1191c) and “other related Federal laws, including . . .  related violations of Title 18.” See 29 U.S.C. § 1136(b), as amended by Section 805 of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act; 98 Stat. 2134-35 (1984). Because the FBI and the Department of Labor have concurrent jurisdiction in these cases, each investigative agency should notify the appropriate United States Attorney's Office at the earliest possible stage of an investigation. Such investigations should be closely monitored to avoid duplication of investigative effort.

[updated January 2020]