Each week while Congress is in session, our Policy team delivers a key update to highlight a topical benefits, health, or retirement news item from the Hill, such as a newly introduced bill, a summary of a committee hearing,...more
On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its much-anticipated final regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” under section 3(21)(a)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as...more
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “Department”) issued a final regulatory package amending its fiduciary investment advice regulation and revising numerous existing prohibited transaction exemptions...more
On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its much-anticipated final regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” under section 3(21)(a)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as...more
On September 21, 2023, the District Court for the Northern District of Texas rejected a challenge brought by 26 states that argued that the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) 2022 Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments...more
U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has accepted a new setback to its longstanding initiative to subject IRA rollover recommendations to ERISA’s fiduciary standard and its prohibited transaction rules. On May 15, 2023, the DOL...more
Does combining a recommendation to take a rollover from a retirement plan with post-rollover advice mean that advice is being provided on a “regular basis” under the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) five-part test for fiduciary...more
The Department of Labor (the “DOL”) recently finalized a regulation amending the rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), related to the selection of plan investments and the...more
A September 27, 2022 decision by the Southern District of New York addresses several key theories recently advanced by the plaintiffs’ bar in ERISA-based lawsuits against plan service providers. In Carfora v. TIAA, S.D.N.Y....more
Parties involved in a Department of Labor (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) investigation often ask a simple question: how much information am I obligated to provide the DOL in response to an...more
One day after President Biden’s Executive Order on Ensuring Responsible Development of Digital Assets, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No....more
On February 2, 2022, the Federation of Americans for Consumer Choice (“FACC”) filed suit against the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas seeking to set aside...more
On January 24, 2022, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court in Hughes v. Northwestern reinstated the long-running case against Northwestern University by sending the case back to the lower courts for further review. ...more
On December 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a statement concerning the investment in private equity by ERISA-covered defined contribution plans (the “Statement,” available here). The Statement is intended to...more
On April 13, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a set of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) on the DOL’s new class exemption for the provision of investment advice, known as Prohibited Transaction Exemption (“PTE”)...more
On January 27, 2021, the United Kingdom’s Department for Work and Pensions (“DWP”) issued the draft regulation, The Occupational Pension Schemes (Climate Change Governance and Reporting) Regulations 2021 (the “Regulation”). ...more
On October 30, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued its much-anticipated final rule on Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments (the “Final Rule”). The Final Rule amends the DOL’s long-standing “investment...more
On October 2, 2020, the Northern District of Illinois ruled on motions to dismiss in a closely-watched cybertheft lawsuit arising out of the theft of $245,000 from a participant’s account in the Abbott Laboratories Stock...more
10/16/2020
/ Abbott Laboratories ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybertheft ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Duty to Monitor ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Popular ,
Retirement Plan
The US is not the only country that has been making legislative and regulatory changes in the pension and benefits area in response to COVID-19. ...more
In Thole v. U.S. Bank, the Supreme Court held that defined benefit plan participants who are receiving their full pension benefit lack constitutional standing to bring a lawsuit alleging that the plan fiduciaries breached...more
6/8/2020
/ Article III ,
Breach of Duty ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Duty of Loyalty ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mismanagement ,
Pensions ,
Plan Participants ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS ,
Standing ,
Thole v U.S. Bank
On June 3, 2020, the Department of Labor (“Department”) issued an Information Letter that, for the first time, provides the Department’s views on the use of private equity investments within 401(k) and other defined...more
6/6/2020
/ 401k ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Information Letters ,
Investment ,
Investment Management ,
Private Equity ,
Retirement Plan
Brief Takeaway -
As a result of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), plan sponsors and service providers across the country are bracing for a flurry of participant activity with respect to...more
4/16/2020
/ Breach of Duty ,
CARES Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cyber Threats ,
Defined Benefit Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fraud ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan
Brief Takeaway: Plan sponsors that offer employer stock in their benefit plans can breathe a sigh of relief, as the Supreme Court vacated one of the only plaintiff-friendly rulings in ERISA “stock drop” litigation. ...more
1/17/2020
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Duty ,
Corporate Officers ,
Dismissals ,
Duty of Prudence ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employee Stock Purchase Plans ,
ESOP ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
FIfth Third Bancorp v Dudenhoeffer ,
Fraud ,
Inflated Projections ,
Insider Information ,
Misrepresentation ,
Plan Participants ,
Pleading Standards ,
Popular ,
Remand ,
Retirement Plans Committee of IBM v Jander ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Securities Violations ,
Vacated
On January 10, 2020, the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) updated its frequently asked questions on Regulation Best Interest (the “FAQs”).
...more
1/16/2020
/ Best Interest Standard ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Fiduciary Rule ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Management ,
New Rules ,
Regulation Best Interest ,
Retail Investors ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Regulation ,
Standard of Conduct ,
Trump Administration