News & Analysis as of

Benefit Plan Sponsors Fiduciary Duty Environmental Social & Governance (ESG)

Goodwin

DOL Abandons ESG Rule in Investment Duties Regulation; Rescinds Cryptocurrency Guidance

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On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) took two major steps that signal a shift in its approach to fiduciary oversight under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA)....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Do You Really Want to Be an ERISA Fiduciary?

Two recent class action lawsuits charging a breach of fiduciary duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) have increased the stakes and raised important considerations regarding a plan fiduciary’s duty of...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Navigating Fiduciary Responsibilities in a Tide-Turning ESG Era

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On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Ken Barnes, vice president of investment consulting at SageView Advisory Group, who discusses the recent federal ruling against American...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Benefits Monthly Minute - January 2025

The January Monthly Minute highlights a recent Texas court decision holding ESG investing violated ERISA and a new development in the J&J prescription drug case that found plaintiff lacked standing to sue, and also digs into...more

Miller Canfield

American Airlines Breaches Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty with BlackRock ESG Funds in 401(k) Plans

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Whether, and the extent to which, a plan fiduciary can consider nonpecuniary environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) objectives in selecting plan investments has been a hot-button issue for many years, with the view on...more

Mayer Brown

Decision Alert: Northern District of Texas Expands Fiduciary Liability To Cover Non-ESG Fund Managers’ ESG-Related Conduct

Mayer Brown on

Case Name and Number: Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., et al., No. 4:23-cv-00552 - Introduction - On February 21, 2024, Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas (the “Court”) denied a motion to dismiss an...more

Robinson Bradshaw

Fiduciary Fundamentals: The Basics

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The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) is a body of federal laws and regulations that govern the provision and operation of certain employer-sponsored benefit plans. While its structure and requirements...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Launch of State Alliance Against “ESG Investing”

On March 16, 2023 the Republican governors of 19 states announced an alliance led by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, to “push back against President Biden’s environmental, social, corporate governance (ESG) agenda that is...more

BakerHostetler

The Growing Threat to ESG Initiatives

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On Jan. 26, 2023, twenty-four states sued the Department of Labor to block a new rule allowing retirement plans to consider environmental, social, and governance concepts (known as ESG) when administering plan assets. The...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

DOL Final Rule on ESG Factors to Take Effect February 1, 2023

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The Final Rule clarifies the application of ERISA’s fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty to the selection of plan investments that incorporate ESG goals. On November 22, 2022, the US Department of Labor (DOL) released a...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

DOL Removes Certain Restrictions on ESG Considerations in ERISA Plan Investment Management

In November, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a final rule (Final Rule) that will remove certain restrictions on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations in plan investments. These restrictions were...more

Holland & Knight LLP

DOL Issues Final Rule on Climate Change, ESG Factors for Retirement Plan Investments

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The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Nov. 22, 2022, announced its adoption of amendments to the regulation setting out retirement plan fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty under the Employee Retirement Income Security...more

Foley Hoag LLP

DOL Eases Restrictions on Use of ESG Factors in Retirement Plan Investment Decisions

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The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued a final rule (the “Final Rule) addressing how ERISA fiduciaries may consider environmental, social and governmental (ESG) factors in making investment decisions for retirement...more

Morgan Lewis

The Interplay Between ESG Investing and ERISA’s Fiduciary Duties

Morgan Lewis on

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

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Stay Tuned – the DOL Regulatory Agenda

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently published its Spring 2022 Regulatory Agenda, and here is a summary of several big ticket items: ESG & ERISA: Plan sponsors and investment professionals have been waiting for final...more

Carlton Fields

DOL to Plan Sponsors: “It’s Mostly All About the Benjamins!”

Carlton Fields on

Almost one year from the date it updated its investment duties regulation (29 C.F.R. § 2550.404a-1), triggering our previous article “DOL to Plan Sponsors: ‘It’s All About the Benjamins!,’” the Department of Labor (DOL)...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

The U.S. Department of Labor Issues Proposed Rule Giving Plan Fiduciaries Greater Latitude to Invest in ESG Funds

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On October 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released a new proposed rule, "Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights," that (again) seeks to define the extent to which a...more

Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP

Proposed ERISA regulation may facilitate ESG in retirement plans

On October 14, 2021, the US Department of Labor (DOL) proposed changes to ERISA regulations that would again shift the analysis of consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in retirement plans...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Department of Labor Puts ESG Investing Back on the Menu

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A new proposal would amend changes made to ERISA less than a year ago that have proved to be detrimental to ESG investing. In a sweeping reversal of Trump-era policies, the US Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a...more

Goodwin

ERISA Litigation Update - April 2021

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Welcome to Goodwin’s ERISA Litigation Update. Litigation involving ERISA-governed benefits plans has exploded in recent years. Lawyers in our award-winning ERISA Litigation practice have extensive experience litigating these...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Attention ERISA Fiduciaries! DOL Now Requires Plan Investments Based Only on Pecuniary Factors

Many plan committees will be holding their Q4 meetings soon, and should begin reviewing compliance with recently issued final rules governing investments in plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

Epstein Becker & Green

[Webinar] Hot Topics and Trends in Employee Benefits for 2021 - December 3rd, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET

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Please join us for our live Hot Topics and Trends in Employee Benefits for 2021 webinar on Thursday, December 3, 2020. Attorneys from our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation practice will provide insights on current...more

Williams Mullen

PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - DOL Proposed Changes for Socially Responsible Investment Options

Williams Mullen on

On the latest episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Marie Yascko-Rosado who discusses the Department of Labor’s proposed rule that could impact plan fiduciaries who use...more

K&L Gates LLP

DOL Issues Proposed Rule on ESG Investing for ERISA Plans Part 2: Implications for Plan Sponsors and Investment Managers

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This alert is the second in a series. In our first alert, “History and State of Play,” our global financial services policy team described the status of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule on socially responsible...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

[Webinar] DOL Proposes Rule to Curtail ESG Investing - June 30th, 2:00 pm - 2:45 pm ET

Join Groom attorneys on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 from 2:00 – 2:45 p.m. ET to discuss the Department of Labor’s proposed rule clarifying plan fiduciaries’ duties when considering investments that incorporate environmental,...more

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