As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations become increasingly central to investment strategies worldwide, the regulatory landscapes governing ESG investing are evolving rapidly across different regions....more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release on September 6, 2024 reminding ERISA plan fiduciaries that it considers cybersecurity to be an area of “great concern” and emphasizing that it continues to investigate...more
The amendments to the QPAM Exemption include a September 15, 2024 notification deadline that will apply to many asset managers. This blog post includes a brief summary of the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) recent technical...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published final amendments to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, the so-called “QPAM Exemption,” in the Federal Register on April 3, 2024. The amendments are anticipated to affect...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) maintains a robust investigatory program for auditing employee benefit plans for potential ERISA violations. Under the Biden administration, the DOL’s ERISA enforcement activities and...more
As companies increasingly encounter dialogue regarding environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, they and their investors and other stakeholders face the task of navigating the sometimes-contradictory web of...more
In 2023, there was an expansion in scope of the discussion around forced labor in the global supply chain. In the United States, the enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) continued to be the main...more
At a time marked by themes of “push” and “pull,” organizations across all sectors and jurisdictions are grappling with the pursuit of innovation within an increasingly complex regulatory framework. Over the next 12 months,...more
US state and federal laws have increasingly sought to regulate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing—a trend that continued in 2023. This increased regulatory focus has impacted benefit plans, including ERISA...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been subject to increased US state and federal regulation over the last several years, and 2023 continued that status quo. As of January 1, 2024, 20 states have...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued DOL Advisory Opinion 2023-01A, (Advisory Opinion) addressing racial equity and supplier diversity. The Advisory Opinion answered an inquiry about the application of ERISA’s...more
As discussed in a previous LawFlash, the US Department of Labor’s Final Rule on Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investment Options, also known as the ESG Rule, contains provisions on proxy voting, which are not limited...more
A recent news release indicates that the US Department of Labor (DOL) has an investigatory initiative focused on the issue of “insurability” under life insurance benefits. This issue arises when insurance premiums are...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been an area of focus for investors in recent years. ESG investing has also been the target of regulators around the globe. In the United States, the industry awaits a...more
US regulators have increased their focus on cybersecurity issues impacting financial services companies, with a host of guidance documents recently released by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the three...more
In 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued cybersecurity guidance (the DOL Guidance) that sets out the DOL’s views on what processes fiduciaries of benefit plans regulated by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more
Both the US House of Representatives and the Senate passed a resolution to overturn the US Department of Labor’s so-called “ESG Rule” on February 28 and March 1, 2023, respectively. The ESG Rule has been a topic of debate as...more
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) of the US Department of Labor (DOL) has continued to be active in civil and criminal enforcement investigations of ERISA’s fiduciary duties. This blog post details two...more
The US Department of Labor released a final rule reframing how ERISA-regulated fiduciaries can consider environmental, social, and governance factors in retirement plan investment decision making....more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) released the Final ESG Rule on November 22, 2022, regulating the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors by fiduciaries of employee benefit plans subject to the...more
Anti-ESG state legislation continues to focus on public retirement plan investing and asset management. Over the last year, 18 states have proposed or adopted state legislation or regulation limiting the ability of the state...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing—especially the “E”—is an increasingly hot topic for investors, but it presents unique legal issues for retirement plan decision makers who have strict fiduciary duties to...more
This post serves as an update to our prior blog post analyzing the impact of this anti-ESG state legislation on public retirement plan investing. Over the past year, 17 states have proposed or adopted state legislation...more
At the same time that the federal government, through the US Department of Labor, appears to be easing retirement plan fiduciaries’ paths to considering certain environmental, social, or governance (ESG) factors in making...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published in the July 27, 2022, Federal Register a number of proposed changes to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 84-14, the so-called “QPAM Exemption.” Investment managers of US...more