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
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 directed the Department of Labor (“DOL”) to establish a database that individuals can search to help locate their retirement benefits. The database – referred to as the Retirement Savings Lost and...more
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) prohibited transaction exemption procedures provide an opportunity for plan sponsors, service providers, industry groups, or others to apply for permission to engage in a variety of...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
New Section 4501 of the Internal Revenue Code imposes a 1% excise tax on certain corporate stock repurchases or “corporate buybacks” in excess of $1 million in the taxable year. The new tax is imposed on the fair market...more
Yesterday, the Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (the “CAA”) to fund the government through September 30, 2023. Division T of the legislation is the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0”), which builds...more
This month, Vermont adopted the Vermont Family and Medical Leave Insurance Plan (“Vermont Program”), a voluntary paid family and medical leave program. The Vermont Program is substantially similar to the New Hampshire...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
On August 1, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of a “stock drop” lawsuit against Boeing. The Seventh Circuit based its conclusion on the fact that an...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently proposed an amendment (the “Proposed Amendment”) to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the “QPAM Exemption”). The Proposed Amendment would...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
Upcoming deadline alert! Plan sponsors should prepare for these upcoming February 2022 deadlines to ensure federal compliance and avoid penalties....more
Background -
On December 30, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2021-03 (“FAB 2021-03”). FAB 2021-03 announces the DOL’s temporary enforcement policy for group health plan service...more
Plan sponsors, fiduciaries, and service providers are being asked by DOL investigators how their ERISA governed plans address cybersecurity concerns with increasing frequency. These requests may take the form of production...more
On October 14, 2021, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) published a proposed regulation, “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (86 Fed. Reg. 57272, the “Proposed Rule”). The...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 February 8, 2021, in the latest turn in the saga of a closely-watched ERISA cybersecurity lawsuit, the Northern District of Illinois again dismissed fiduciary breach claims against Abbott Laboratories (“Abbott Labs”)...more
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, Public Law 116-260 (“CAA”), signed into law by President Trump on December 27, 2020, imposes new compensation disclosure requirements upon brokers and consultants to group health...more
On June 29, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) proposed a new exemption from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”) in connection with the...more
7/6/2020
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Best Interest Standard ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment Adviser ,
IRA Rollovers ,
Prohibited Transactions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Vacatur