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
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
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
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
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
As the US Department of Labor (DOL) continues to contemplate the role of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in ERISA plan investing, ESG issues surrounding retirement plans are cropping up in another...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that it is seeking comment on the impact of climate change on retirement security and what actions, if any, the agency should take to protect retirement savings from such...more
At the end of each fiscal year, the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) compiles the monetary results it obtained through various initiatives meant to ensure compliance with the...more
The US Department of Labor on October 14 published in the Federal Register a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.” The proposed rule, if...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) released on Wednesday, October 13, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights (the proposed rule), which would...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) released on October 13, 2021, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights (Proposed Rule), which would amend a prior...more
Hinting that the US Department of Labor (DOL) is currently working on guidance related to cryptocurrency, the Acting Assistant Secretary for the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration recently commented that the DOL...more
9/30/2021
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In recent years, target retirement date funds (TDFs) have become a very popular investment option on participant-directed defined contribution plan investment lineups. But, as discussed in this LawFlash, as TDFs have grown in...more