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Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Department of Labor (DOL) Corporate Governance

Mintz

Biden Administration's DOL Rule Permitting ESG Investments Survives Legal Challenge

Mintz on

4 Last week, a federal district judge in the Northern District of Texas upheld a rule promulgated by the Biden Administration's Department of Labor enabling ESG-focused investing. Specifically, the court determined that the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Breached ERISA’s Duty of Loyalty By Allowing ESG Interests To Influence Management Of The Plan

Last week, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued the first-of-its-kind ruling on the merits pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing...more

Goodwin

Changes Expected as Trump Administration Continues to Take Shape

Goodwin on

As Washington prepares for new leadership in January 2025, significant policy changes appear on the horizon. The incoming administration’s agenda suggests a substantial shift in US economic and regulatory priorities, with...more

Perkins Coie

ESG Landscape: Continued Focus on Sustainability

Perkins Coie on

In the current political and business environment, companies are taking action to address a range of environmental and social issues.  Corporate attitudes have changed since the late 2010s, when environmental, social, and...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Sustainability/ESG Policy and Regulatory Update

Key topics in Akin’s July 2024 Sustainability/ESG Policy and Regulatory Update include: Updated Assessment of SFDR by EU Regulators: The European Supervisory Authorities have proposed changes to the Sustainable Finance...more

Goodwin

Minding the Store: Unanticipated ESG Issues Affecting ERISA Fiduciary Supervision

Goodwin on

A recent summary judgment decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in an ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act) class action challenging the alleged impact of environmental, social,...more

Paul Hastings LLP

Pecuniary vs. Nonpecuniary Factors: Understanding the Potential Scope of Anti-ESG Restrictions in U.S. State Laws

Paul Hastings LLP on

Executive Summary and Overview- State anti-ESG lawmakers have enacted legislation aimed at restricting investors from considering ESG factors in their investment strategies and decisions by requiring state financial...more

ArentFox Schiff

Airline 401k Decision Illustrates Continued Takeoff of ESG Litigation

ArentFox Schiff on

A Texas federal judge recently permitted an environmental, social, and governance- (ESG) related Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) case filed by an airline pilot against his employer and its benefits plan to...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

ESG Essentials: What You Need To Know Now - Episode 16 - ESG Backlash

Fox Rothschild LLP on

Media reporting on the ESG "backlash" has grown as lawmakers in some states pursue legislation to prevent government entities from doing business with investment firms and other businesses that consider environmental, social...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Sustainability and ESG Advisory Practice Update, June 2023

SEC Publishes Spring 2023 Regulatory Agenda - On June 13, 2023, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler announced the release of the SEC’s Spring 2023 Regulatory Agenda (the Regulatory...more

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

ESG: Important New Considerations for Employers

Consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues is becoming increasingly important for companies when conducting business and in dealings with investors and employees. The increased emphasis on ESG poses...more

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Republican-Led States Sue to Block ESG Investment Rule, a Fight With Potential Far-Reaching Implications for the Anti-ESG Movement

The Department of Labor (DOL) on Dec. 1, 2022, finalized regulations titled “Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights” (the 2022 Rule) that provide greater flexibility to retirement...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Parallel Investigations: How to Prepare When ESG Inaction and Action Both Yield Risk

Regardless of a company’s stance on ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), the current political climate brings unique risks for parallel investigations. There are clear signals that congressional investigations coupled...more

Morgan Lewis

Recent ESG Developments: What Nonprofits Should Know

Morgan Lewis on

While none of the recent environmental, social, and governance (ESG) developments with respect to organizations under some sort of regulatory oversight—including public companies and retirement plans—is directly relevant to...more

Fisher Phillips

Tides Have Turned: 4 Key Takeaways for Employers as Labor Department Clears Way for ESG-Focused Investment Options

Fisher Phillips on

The tides can turn quickly in the world of workplace law, and employers who operate as plan fiduciaries for their employees’ retirement investments can now shift their thinking thanks to the latest development. While the...more

Fisher Phillips

Forecast: February 2022 Edition

Fisher Phillips on

Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more

Mintz - Employment Viewpoints

Call it a Comeback: The Likely Return of ESG Investing in ERISA Accounts

Environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) investing has experienced quite the regulatory roller coaster in recent years. In the most recent turn, Democratic Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.), along...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Green and Sustainability-Linked Private Placements by EU and UK Issuers

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are becoming increasingly relevant across a range of financial investments. This has been driven in part by changes in the legal and regulatory landscape, including increased...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Beware the “ESGs of March” as ESG Regulatory Change Is Afoot

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Three recent developments in relation to ESG related disclosures are of note: (1) on March 10th, the US Department of Labor announced it would not enforce its own rules related to ESG investing, (2) on the same day the EU’s...more

WilmerHale

Environmental Justice in the Biden Administration

WilmerHale on

The Biden Administration is seeking to advance “environmental justice” (EJ) through its policy and regulatory priorities in a way that no administration has before. Environmental justice - which seeks to address...more

Winstead PC

Plan Fiduciaries: You Have No Right to Vote

Winstead PC on

On December 11, 2020, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued a pre-publication version of its final regulations with respect to proxy voting in plans that are subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Beyond Bunny Hugging: ESG, Investor Expectations and Reporting Trends

Foley & Lardner LLP on

This paper attempts to provide a definition and context for the term, Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), explain how and why it is used, demonstrate how investors are driving the proliferation of ESG reporting,...more

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Department of Labor Imposes New Restrictions on ESG Investments in Retirement Plans

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

Retirement plan fiduciaries and participants with the ability to direct the investment of their retirement accounts increasingly have considered environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors important to their...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

U.S. Labor Department Tells Retirement Plans to Focus on the Money, Not Environmental or Social Issues

The U.S. Department of Labor recently finalized regulations that are likely to limit the use of retirement investments focused on environmental and social issues. On October 30, DOL issued a rule entitled “Financial Factors...more

Mayer Brown Free Writings + Perspectives

The Department of Labor’s ESG-less Final ESG Rule

On October 30, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its final regulation (“Final Rule”) relating to a fiduciary’s consideration of environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors when making investment...more

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