News & Analysis as of

Biden Administration Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Government Reopens Discussion of Private Pension Investments Expectations

Latham & Watkins LLP on

The Department of Labor has taken two recent actions that indicate where the approach to retirement investment policy may go under the new administration....more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

US Administration Announces Intent to Replace Biden-Era ESG Rule

The US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) position on the appropriateness of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing strategies in ERISA-regulated retirement plans has ping-ponged for decades (as we’ve covered...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

ESG Investing in 401(k) Plans – More Rule Changes on the Way

Troutman Pepper Locke on

In our recent client alert, “Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged “ESG Investing” Without Any ESG Funds,” we reported that a Texas district court recently upheld Biden-administration...more

Ropes & Gray LLP

Trump DOL Withdraws Biden-Era ESG Rule and Crypto Guidance for ERISA Plans

Ropes & Gray LLP on

On May 28, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) began to articulate the Trump administration’s retirement policy priorities with its decisions to (i) end its defense of the Biden-era ESG rule in a long-running lawsuit...more

Carlton Fields

DOL ESG Rule Withstands Demolition of Chevron Deference

Carlton Fields on

In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., leaving the doctrine of Chevron deference in rubble. The doctrine stated that, when a...more

ArentFox Schiff

ESG Update: Texas Federal Court Cites Loper Bright in Upholding Biden-Era ESG 401(k) Investing Rule

ArentFox Schiff on

A Biden-era US Department of Labor (DOL) Rule permitting consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when choosing investments as a “tiebreaker” was recently upheld by Texas federal Judge Matthew...more

Nossaman LLP

Relying on Loper, Fifth Circuit Sends Chevron-based decision Back to District Court, calling ESG Rule into Question

Nossaman LLP on

On July 18, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (“Fifth Circuit”) vacated a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (“District Court”) that upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s...more

Mintz

Biden Administration's DOL Rule Enabling Investment Advisors to Consider ESG Factors Survives Judicial Challenge

Mintz on

On September 21, 2023, Judge Kacsmaryk (N.D. Texas), a famously conservative Trump-appointed jurist, upheld a Department of Labor rule promulgated by the Biden Administration that enables employee retirement plans to consider...more

Verrill

Update on the Debate over Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance Investing

Verrill on

The debate over investment of retirement plan funds based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors continues to make waves. This post provides a high-level overview of the current state of play for...more

Jones Day

Congressional Republicans and State Attorneys General Challenge Biden Administration's ESG 401(k) Rule

Jones Day on

Republicans at the state and federal levels are challenging a Biden administration rule (the "Rule") intended to walk back Trump-era regulations restricting the ability of retirement fund managers to consider climate change...more

Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

President Biden’s First Veto Frustrates Anti-ESG Coalition

On March 20, President Joe Biden used his first presidential veto to block a GOP-sponsored anti-ESG bill from taking effect. The bill would have eliminated a Department of Labor rule that allows ERISA retirement fund managers...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Policy Matters Newsletter - March 2023

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Biden Officially Nominates Su To Replace Marty Walsh. This week, President Biden officially announced the nomination of Julie Su to replace Marty Walsh atop the Department of Labor. We have had numerous occasions to discuss...more

Holland & Knight LLP

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

Holland & Knight LLP on

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

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

I don’t get the push for ESG

While the Biden-led Department of Labor (DOL) has given the green light for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds within 401(k) plans, I don’t get the push....more

McDermott Will & Schulte

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Investing for Retirement Plans: Where We’ve Been, and Where We Are Now

McDermott Will & Schulte on

Over the past year, the regulatory backdrop around environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing has shifted. As McDermott Partner Brian J. Tiemann explains in these slides, the US Department of Labor (DOL) under the...more

King & Spalding

Department of Labor Wants to "Remove Barriers" to Consideration of ESG Factors in Investment and Proxy Voting Decisions

King & Spalding on

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently announced a proposed rule that would reverse existing regulations promulgated less than a year ago restricting ERISA plan fiduciaries’ ability to “consider climate change and...more

Perkins Coie

DOL Proposes Expanded Use of ESG Factors in ERISA Plan Investment Decisions and Proxy Voting

Perkins Coie on

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a proposed regulation on October 14, 2021, that would clarify how fiduciaries of private sector employee benefit plans should apply ERISA’s fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Department of Labor Puts ESG Investing Back on the Menu

Latham & Watkins LLP on

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

Foley Hoag LLP - Global Business and Human...

President Biden’s “Climate-Related Financial Risk” Executive Order Pushes Forward on the Administration’s ESG Commitments

On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order to address predicted financial instability in the federal government as a result of climate change. This Executive Order showcases a dramatic change in how the Biden...more

Morgan Lewis

Biden-Harris Administration’s First 100 Days Expose Priorities, Lay Groundwork for New Policies

Morgan Lewis on

US President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have consistently framed their policies with what they call the four major “crises” facing the nation: COVID-19, the economy, climate, and inequity. ...more

Mintz - Securities & Capital Markets...

Not So Fast: DOL Changes Course on Trump-Era ESG Investment Rule

The United States Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) announced on March 10, 2021 that it will not enforce certain final rules put into place under President Trump related to...more

Roetzel & Andress

Could There Be Changes To ERISA Fiduciary Requirements Under The Biden Administration?

Roetzel & Andress on

President Biden nominated Marty Walsh, Mayor of Boston, as Secretary of Labor, and as his nomination remains pending, questions arise on what changes will be made regarding ERISA fiduciary rules that were established under...more

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C.

Expect ESG rule to be overturned

The Biden administration will review the Department of Labor (DOL) rule stipulating that ERISA plan fiduciaries can’t invest in “non-pecuniary” vehicles that sacrifice investment returns or take on additional risk. This rule...more

Morgan Lewis

ERISA Fiduciaries Under a Biden Labor Department: What Is on the Horizon?

Morgan Lewis on

President Joe Biden has been in office for 34 days and his nominee for Secretary of Labor, Marty Walsh, has not yet been confirmed. So far, Mr. Walsh has not publicly stated much regarding his views or intended priorities...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Biden Administration Requests Review of DOL’s Final “ESG” Rules for ERISA Fiduciaries – What Does that Mean for the DOL’s Final...

On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a final rule on “ESG” investing which requires ERISA plan fiduciaries to base investment decisions on financial factors alone, prohibits fiduciaries from...more

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