News & Analysis as of

Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Corporate Governance

Perkins Coie

ESG Landscape: Continued Focus on Sustainability

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In the current political and business environment, companies are taking action to address a range of environmental and social issues.  Corporate attitudes have changed since the late 2010s, when environmental, social, and...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Sustainability/ESG Policy and Regulatory Update

Key topics in Akin’s July 2024 Sustainability/ESG Policy and Regulatory Update include: Updated Assessment of SFDR by EU Regulators: The European Supervisory Authorities have proposed changes to the Sustainable Finance...more

Goodwin

Minding the Store: Unanticipated ESG Issues Affecting ERISA Fiduciary Supervision

Goodwin on

A recent summary judgment decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) class action challenging the alleged impact of environmental, social,...more

BCLP

Don’t Pull the Trigger on That Stock Trade Just Yet! Questions Counsel Should Ask Insiders Before They Trade; Topics to Cover When...

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One of the routine duties of counsel for a public company is advising officers and directors on their trades in company stock and their SEC responsibilities when they leave. Because those discussions are routine, it may be...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Pecuniary vs. Nonpecuniary Factors: Understanding the Potential Scope of Anti-ESG Restrictions in U.S. State Laws

Paul Hastings LLP on

Executive Summary and Overview- State anti-ESG lawmakers have enacted legislation aimed at restricting investors from considering ESG factors in their investment strategies and decisions by requiring state financial...more

ArentFox Schiff

Airline 401k Decision Illustrates Continued Takeoff of ESG Litigation

ArentFox Schiff on

A Texas federal judge recently permitted an environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case filed by an airline pilot against his employer and its benefits plan to...more

Proskauer - Corporate Defense and Disputes

Missouri Court Denies Dismissal of SIFMA Challenge to Missouri’s Anti-ESG Rules for Financial Advisers

A federal district court in Missouri recently denied a motion to dismiss the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (“SIFMA’s”) challenge to Missouri Securities Division rules that require financial firms and...more

Mintz

A Mintz ESG Primer: The Current State of Environmental, Social, and Governance Matters in American Corporations

Mintz on

The Mintz Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Working Group developed this ESG primer to provide an overview of the current state of affairs in the United States with respect to the ESG issues that businesses...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

The Time Has Come, A Fact’s A Fact: Consider Adding a Welfare Plan Committee

The time may have come to add a welfare plan committee to your company’s governance of employee benefit plans. New legal obligations and other developments impose fiduciary risks for welfare plans similar to what already...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

ESG in the United States: A complex landscape

The United States is in the process of transitioning ESG disclosure from voluntary, market-led reporting to a regulatory-driven scheme, principally led by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) anticipated (but...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

ESG: Important New Considerations for Employers

Consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues is becoming increasingly important for companies when conducting business and in dealings with investors and employees. The increased emphasis on ESG poses...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

Should I Pay Or Should I No(t) Now: Which Expenses Can be Paid with Plan Assets?

One question that often comes up is whether an expense related to an ERISA plan can be paid with plan assets. The decision of whether to use ERISA plan assets to pay an expense is an ERISA fiduciary decision. With the recent...more

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

Republican-Led States Sue to Block ESG Investment Rule, a Fight With Potential Far-Reaching Implications for the Anti-ESG Movement

The Department of Labor (DOL) on Dec. 1, 2022, finalized regulations titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (the 2022 Rule) that provide greater flexibility to retirement...more

Robinson Bradshaw

Tenth Circuit Prohibits Class-Action Waivers in Benefit Plan Documents

Robinson Bradshaw on

It is no secret that many businesses minimize risk by requiring arbitration of disputes on an individual basis. The exposure created by a single claim pales next to that presented by a class claim, asserted under Rule 23, on...more

Fisher Phillips

Tides Have Turned: 4 Key Takeaways for Employers as Labor Department Clears Way for ESG-Focused Investment Options

Fisher Phillips on

The tides can turn quickly in the world of workplace law, and employers who operate as plan fiduciaries for their employees’ retirement investments can now shift their thinking thanks to the latest development. While the...more

Holland & Hart - The Benefits Dial

What Happens in a Small Town Stays in a Small Town … Until the DOL Doubles Down on Mental Health Parity Compliance

The Department of Labor (DOL), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Treasury (collectively, the Departments) recently issued their joint report to Congress regarding their Mental Health...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Call it a Comeback: The Likely Return of ESG Investing in ERISA Accounts

Environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing has experienced quite the regulatory roller coaster in recent years. In the most recent turn, Democratic Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), along...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Green and Sustainability-Linked Private Placements by EU and UK Issuers

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly relevant across a range of financial investments. This has been driven in part by changes in the legal and regulatory landscape, including increased...more

Winstead PC

Plan Fiduciaries: You Have No Right to Vote

Winstead PC on

On December 11, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a pre-publication version of its final regulations with respect to proxy voting in plans that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

Goodwin

ISS Publishes 2021 Proxy Voting Guidelines

Goodwin on

In the News. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) published its proxy voting guidelines updates for 2021, which include new and updated voting recommendations on federal forum and exclusive forum provisions in companies’...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

U.S. Labor Department Tells Retirement Plans to Focus on the Money, Not Environmental or Social Issues

The U.S. Department of Labor recently finalized regulations that are likely to limit the use of retirement investments focused on environmental and social issues. On October 30, DOL issued a rule entitled “Financial Factors...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

The Department of Labor’s ESG-less Final ESG Rule

On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its final regulation (“Final Rule”) relating to a fiduciary’s consideration of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors when making investment...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Department of Labor Puts ESG Investing on Ice

Latham & Watkins LLP on

In its finalized rule amending ERISA, the DOL makes financial factors paramount in a fiduciary’s responsibility to investors. On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published Financial Factors in Selecting...more

A&O Shearman

IRS Proposes Carried Interest Rules Recharacterizing Certain Capital Gain in Connection with Profits Interests

A&O Shearman on

On July 31, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) published proposed regulations providing guidance under Section 1061 (the “Proposed Regulations”) of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Section 1061, which was added...more

A&O Shearman

Considerations when Reducing Executive Salaries

A&O Shearman on

In the wake of the market disruption caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of employers have announced temporary salary reductions as a means of conserving cash, and thus demonstrating sound stewardship. This memorandum...more

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