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