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Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Employee Benefits Corporate Governance

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

Verrill

Spence v. American Airlines: A Texas Court’s View of the Duty of Loyalty under ERISA

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Since we last discussed environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) developments in the context of ERISA retirement plans, ESG litigation has taken a rather unexpected turn. Although the plan lineup in Spence v....more

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

Paul Hastings LLP

Federal Court Determines American Airlines, Inc., 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Breached Their ERISA Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty to...

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On January 10th, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas (the court) ruled that American Airlines, Inc. (American) and the American Airlines Employee Benefits Committee (together, the Defendants)...more

A&O Shearman

Texas District Court ESG ruling has broader implications for ERISA plan fiduciaries

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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

A&O Shearman

ESG Investing Takes A Blow In Texas Federal Court

A&O Shearman on

On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled, following a four-day bench trial, that an airline breached ERISA fiduciary duties when investing...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

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

Ropes & Gray LLP

Practical Takeaways from Spence v. American Airlines, Inc. for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

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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

Mintz

Federal Court Rules ESG-Guided Investing of 401(k) Plan Is a Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Mintz on

Following a bench trial, Judge O'Connor (N.D. Tex.) held that “that Defendants breached their fiduciary duty by failing to loyally act solely in the retirement plan's best financial interests by allowing their corporate...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

ArentFox Schiff

Airline 401k Decision Illustrates Continued Takeoff of ESG Litigation

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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

Ius Laboris

Recent developments in ESG and pensions

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The main provisions of the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation have been in force since 2021, but compliance remains a challenge for many market participants. Here is an update on the state of play....more

Ius Laboris

Eco-KPIs and eco-benefits

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ESG KPIs may be an opportunity for employers to boost their competitive advantage vis-à-vis both customers and employees. While ESG-based bonus plans and benefits packages are now commonly used in several industries, many...more

WilmerHale

Shareholder Focus on Reproductive Rights Post-Dobbs

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Companies are responding in a myriad of ways to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs), including by expanding healthcare travel benefits to reduce barriers to accessing care in...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

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

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

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Department of Labor Puts ESG Investing on Ice

Latham & Watkins LLP on

In its finalized rule amending ERISA, the DOL makes financial factors paramount in a fiduciary’s responsibility to investors. On October 30, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published Financial Factors in Selecting...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Recent Changes In Human Capital And D+I For Public Companies

On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced, as part of its ongoing initiative to modernize Regulation S-K disclosure, amendments that add human capital resources as a separate disclosure topic,...more

White & Case LLP

ESG Disclosure Trends in SEC Filings

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These are unprecedented times, and companies are facing important issues as they navigate the current economic, political, and social climate. The COVID-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement have put the spotlight on...more

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits

More to Come from Department of Labor on ESG Factors? Executive Order, DOL Document Requests Suggest Yes

A hot topic in the world of money management, including the management of assets in retirement plans, is the consideration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when evaluating investments....more

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