Earlier this month, the Department of Labor proposed a significant prohibited transaction exemption that would allow a plan sponsor’s captive insurer to reinsure pension annuity risks. Proposed Exemption From Certain...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
In a September 29, 2023 Advisory Opinion issued to Citigroup Inc. (“Citi”), the Department of Labor (“DOL”) addressed several key ERISA implications arising in connection with a Citi Racial Equity Program (the “Program”). ...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) has sent a new, proposed fiduciary rule to the Office and Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review. The text of the proposal is not yet public. OMB must first conduct an interagency review...more
November 18, 2022, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released a number of changes to its Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (“VFCP”) in both an update of VFCP and related guidance....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
Over the decades since the enactment of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), many plan sponsors, service providers, and industry groups have applied for, and been granted, prohibited...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 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
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued an information letter, DOL Information Letter 06-14-2021 (the “Letter”), addressing the question of whether the ERISA claim regulation requires production of an audio recording...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 April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a cybersecurity guidance package directed to plan sponsors; fiduciaries regulated under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”);...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued sub-regulatory guidance detailing what steps plan sponsors should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or nonresponsive participants (missing...more
On January 12, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued three pieces of guidance detailing the DOL’s view of what steps plan fiduciaries should take to locate and distribute retirement benefits to missing or...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
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-94, Division O, the “SECURE Act”) created a new structure through which completely unrelated employers can participate in a single defined...more
8/28/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EBSA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Form 5500 ,
PEP ,
Proposed Rules ,
Retirement Plan ,
Retirement Plan Providers ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SECURE Act
On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) defining plan fiduciaries’ duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) when considering...more
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
Recently, plaintiffs’ firms have filed a flurry of class action lawsuits against employers, alleging violations of COBRA’s election notice requirements and seeking statutory and other penalties. ...more
On April 28th, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) of the Department of Labor (“DOL”), together with the Department of the Treasury, issued helpful guidance for retirement plans that extends certain...more
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