In a decision poised to change the landscape of Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) litigation, on April 17, 2025, the Supreme Court held in Cunningham et al. v. Cornell University et al. that a claimant...more
4/23/2025
/ Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
ERISA Litigation ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleading Standards ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS
In a recent decision by the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2022 Rule (the 2022 Rule) on environmental, social, and governance (ESG)...more
3/14/2025
/ Chevron Deference ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Final Rules ,
Investment ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Retirement Plan ,
SCOTUS
On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) held, in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., that American Airlines (“American”) and the American Airlines Employee Benefits...more
1/29/2025
/ Corporate Governance ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Plan Administrators ,
Retirement Plan
On April 3, 2024, the Department of Labor (DOL) released its final rule amending Prohibited Transaction Exemption 84-14 (PTE 84-14). PTE 84-14 exempts from ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules certain transactions between...more
More than five years after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to vacate the Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2016 fiduciary rule, the DOL has proposed a new rule that, once again, attempts to re-define when financial...more
The Department of Labor (the DOL) has released its final rule clarifying how and when ERISA fiduciaries may consider ESG factors in making investment decisions for a plan. The rule also offers substantial guidance on the...more
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
In a proposed class prohibited transaction exemption published on June 29, 2020 (the “proposed exemption”), the Department of Labor (DOL) stated that advising employee benefit plan (“plan”) participants to roll over plan...more
Those responsible for overseeing their company’s 401(k) plan may be pleased to learn that recent DOL guidance provides that private equity investments may be offered to plan participants if included as part of a multi-asset...more
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
On May 21, 2018, in a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held, in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, that arbitration clauses in employment contracts requiring individualized proceedings are enforceable and thereby...more
6/15/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Epic Systems Corp v Lewis ,
Ernst & Young v Morris ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Murphy Oil v NLRB ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Savings Clause ,
SCOTUS
On May 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (Reform Act). Although largely focused on regulatory exemptions for smaller financial institutions, the...more
On August 9, 2017, the Department of Labor notified the District Court of Minnesota that it had submitted to the Office of Management and Budget amendments that would delay until July 1, 2019 the applicability of three...more
On May 22, 2017, Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta announced that the DOL has found no “principled legal basis” to further delay the June 9, 2017 applicability date of its “fiduciary rule.”...more
On April 4, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a final rule delaying the applicability date of its “fiduciary rule” and related exemptions to June 9, 2017. The delay also provides that (1) reliance on the Best Interest...more
On March 1, 2017, the Department of Labor issued a proposed rule that, when finalized, will delay the applicability date of its “fiduciary rule” and related exemptions to June 9, 2017, which is 60 days from its original...more
Under consideration for over 15 years, the rule’s applicability date lands shortly after the Republicans gain control of both houses of Congress and the Presidency. This short client alert outlines some of the options...more
The US Department of Labor’s final fiduciary rule captures rollover, transfer and distribution recommendations to retirement investors. In essence, under the rule, a financial organization or adviser is acting as a fiduciary...more
Following the release in 2015 of the US Department of Labor’s proposed fiduciary rule, many commentators feared that communications that had previously been characterized as “investment education” would now constitute...more
As discussed in our publication dated April 14, 2016, the final Department of Labor fiduciary rule provides for two new prohibited transaction exemptions, the Best Interest Contract Exemption (the “BIC Exemption”) and the...more
The Rule Will Require Restructuring of Pay and Compliance Policies at Financial Institutions Serving Retail Retirement Clients
The Rule Also Increases the Litigation Risks to Financial Institutions Associated with...more
The most recent Sun Capital decision is a troubling development for private equity fund sponsors and will likely require a “rethink” of fund structuring when private equity funds own portfolio companies with significant...more
On August 13, 2015, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) concluded a four day public hearing on its proposed conflict of interest rule (the “Proposed Rule”). The approximately 75 witnesses generally fell into two groups: the...more
8/25/2015
/ Best Interest Contract Exemptions ,
Comment Period ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Exemptions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Investment Adviser ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Proposed Regulation ,
REIT
The IRS recently announced significant changes to its determination letter program that will become effective January 1, 2017. These changes essentially eliminate determination letters for individually designed plans that are...more
On April 14, 2015, the US Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued its proposed rule clarifying when individuals and institutions providing advice to employee benefit plans and individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) will be...more