Business Better Podcast Episode: Bridging Campuses: Legal Insights on Education Industry Consolidation – Labor, Employment, and Benefits
How ERISA Litigators Strengthen Plan Compliance and Risk Management: One-on-One with Jeb Gerth
#WorkforceWednesday®: New DOL Guidance - ERISA Plan Cybersecurity Update - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - ERISA Forfeiture Litigation
ERISA Blog | Changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rules A Primer for Self-Insured Group Health Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What the J&J Case Means for Plan Administrators
The No Surprises Act: A Cost Saving Opportunity for Employer Plan Sponsors
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - New Federal Rule Aims to Hold Investment Advisors to a Higher Standard
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Top-Hat Plans — Special Edition Podcast
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 - Health and Welfare Plan Developments — Special Edition Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Partial Plan Terminations
Podcast Episode 189: Adding Context to Compliance and Color To Your Legal Practice
#WorkforceWednesday: SECURE Act 2.0 - What 401(k) Plan Sponsors Need to Know - Employment Law This Week®
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Plan Administrators’ 2022 Year-End Checklist
An Inside Look as a Juror - FCRA Focus Podcast
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Multiemployer Plans
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Court Decisions Impacting Plan Sponsors and Fiduciaries
(A)ESOP's Fables - The Income and Estate Tax-Free ESOP
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Group Health Plan Service Provider Compensation Disclosure Requirements
On January 10, 2025, in Spence v. American Airlines, a federal district court in Texas ruled that American Airlines (the company) and the committee overseeing its 401(k) plans (the committee) breached their duty of loyalty...more
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have gained an increasing foothold in the wealth-management investment universe, with ETF assets under management currently about half the assets under management of mutual funds. As the ETF...more
Ropes & Gray closely monitors the rapidly evolving ESG landscape, helping asset managers and institutional investors navigate the dynamic ESG regulatory environment and keep on top of emerging ESG trends and industry best...more
On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more
As we discussed in our white paper “ESG and Public Pension Investing in 2023: A Year-to-Date Recap and Analysis”, there was a surge in legislative activity in 2023 among red states curtailing the use of environmental, social...more
The incoming Trump administration will bring significant changes to regulatory policy as it relates to the asset management industry, and private funds, in particular...more
Earlier this year, the Department of Labor (DOL) updated the prohibited transaction exemption for Qualified Professional Asset Managers, often referred to as the “QPAM exemption.” Included in the update is a new requirement...more
In this week’s edition, we discuss a drop in support for ESG shareholder proposals at one of the world’s largest asset managers; a decision by a U.S. federal court to strike down an anti-ESG investing rule in Missouri; and...more
Yesterday, Judge Bough (W.D. Mo.) issued a decision barring the recent anti-ESG rules Missouri had promulgated that prohibited investment advisers from utilizing ESG factors when making investment decisions (absent written...more
The DOL recently finalized amendments to the QPAM exemption that will considerably alter the exemption’s conditions effective as of June 17, 2024 (for a detailed summary of the changes, please see our post here). There are a...more
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14. The amendment will become effective June 17, 2024....more
As recently noted by the US Department of Labor (“DOL”), since the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), “the retirement plan landscape has changed significantly, with a shift from defined...more
Recently, a Texas federal court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss in a lawsuit featuring allegations that an employer's 401(k) plan, which allegedly relied on ESG principles when making investments, violated ERISA. ...more
It is a dramatic understatement to describe 2023 as a busy year in the United States for asset management regulation. With 24 rules adopted and 18 new rules or rule amendments proposed, the US Securities and Exchange...more
On 31 October 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled its proposed “Retirement Security Rule” (Proposed Rule) redefining who is an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)....more
Executive Summary: The Department of Labor released a final rule that addresses fiduciary duties when (1) considering ESG factors in selecting investments, and (2) considering whether and how to vote proxies, for plans...more
Executive Summary - The Department of Labor’s proposed amendment to the QPAM Exemption would impose stricter conditions and make it more difficult for managers to avail themselves of one of the most commonly utilized ERISA...more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) published in the July 27, 2022, Federal Register a number of proposed changes to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption (PTE) 84-14, the so-called “QPAM Exemption.” Investment managers of US...more
On July 27, 2022 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed significant modifications to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14 (the QPAM Exemption). The DOL will accept written comments and requests for public...more
On this episode of Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion, host Brydon DeWitt is joined by Zan Gormley, a partner in Williams Mullen’s Litigation Section, who discusses the law and guidance on what constitutes “assets of the...more
On 4 September 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a new proposed rule on “Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights” (the Proposal)....more
On June 3, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Information Letter (Letter) concerning private equity investments within an asset allocation fund that is a designated investment alternative in an individual account...more
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an information letter concluding that a plan fiduciary would not violate ERISA’s fiduciary duties solely because the fiduciary offers a professionally managed asset...more
Coming on the heels of the share class initiative, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is at the initial stages of another initiative involving concerns about adviser disclosures and conflicts related to bank...more
The sponsorship of a qualified retirement plan can be rewarding but frustrating – there are so many rules. Unfortunately agricultural employers are not given a break when it comes to sponsoring such retirement plans. ...more