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Fiduciary Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Benefit Plan Sponsors

Bricker Graydon LLP

Why Fiduciary Training Should Be a Priority for Your Retirement Plan Committee

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If you serve on a retirement plan committee, you’ve taken on an important and legally significant role. As a fiduciary under the ERISA, you are personally liable for the decisions you make regarding the plan. That’s not a...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

Miller Canfield

ERISA in the Supreme Court: Implications of Cunningham v Cornell University

Miller Canfield on

On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Cunningham v Cornell University, addressing the pleading standard applicable to prohibited transaction claims under the Employee Retirement Income...more

McCarter & English, LLP

DOL Issues Guidance on Retirement Plan Treatment of Missing Participants with Small Balances

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) has released Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-01 (the Bulletin), providing much-needed guidance to fiduciaries of retirement plans covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security...more

Polsinelli

Prohibited Transaction Pleading Standards To Receive Clarity From SCOTUS

Polsinelli on

Key Takeaways - In October 2024, SCOTUS granted review of Cunningham v. Cornell University to provide guidance on certain pleading standards in ERISA litigation claims, with oral arguments scheduled for January 2025....more

Holland & Knight LLP

Understanding the Recent Wave of Litigation Targeting Tobacco-Free Wellness Programs

Holland & Knight LLP on

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) prohibits employers who offer health and welfare benefit plans from discriminating against plan participants on the basis of a health status-related factor, such as a...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Court to Reevaluate Pleading Requirements for ERISA-Prohibited Transaction Claims

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court recently granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit's decision in Cunningham v. Cornell University, 86 F.4th 961 (2d Cir. 2023). In doing so,...more

Kaufman & Canoles

ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation Q2 2024 Client Update

Kaufman & Canoles on

On behalf of the ESOPs, Benefits & Compensation team, we hope your Summer is off to a great start. In the time of family vacations and out-of-office replies, the pace of employee benefits changes—both large and small—remains...more

Goodwin

The U.S. Department Of Labor’s New Definition of Fiduciary Investment Advice Is Finalized (Again)

Goodwin on

The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new regulation defining fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

A Pop Culture Guide to the Final Amendments to the QPAM Exemption Taking Effect on June 17, 2024

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

Miller Canfield

DOL’s Latest Regulatory Package Expands Definition of Fiduciary

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The Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued a regulatory package that includes a final rule updating ERISA's definition of an investment advice fiduciary and amending certain related prohibited transaction exemptions...more

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

How Has the DOL’s Fiduciary Rule Affected Plan Sponsors?

What has changed with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final regulations and certain prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs)? Is it really that bad even for plan sponsors, as we hear from the many critics of the DOL’s...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

DOL Expands Investment Advice Subject to Fiduciary Liability

Following previous failed attempts to expand the fiduciary liability of financial services providers, the DOL released a new rule that broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The new rule is expected to face...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Unicorn, Ostrich or Okapi? Fiduciary Duties for Governmental Retirement Plan Sponsors

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Most retirement plan sponsors know that ERISA - the federal law that imposes duties (and liability for breaching those duties) on certain individuals and entities that are defined as plan fiduciaries – is the primary source...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

2023 Year-End Employee Benefits Updates

Quarles & Brady LLP on

This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Investment Committee Best Practices - If a Prudent Decision Was Made and No One Documented it, Did it Happen?

Bricker Graydon LLP on

If you are serving as a fiduciary for your employer’s retirement plan, you have a duty under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to act prudently. Engaging in prudent behavior is only the first step a plan...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Tenth Circuit Dismisses Claims Related to High-Cost Funds, High Recordkeeping Fees

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Matney v. Barrick Gold of North America, et al. on Sept. 6, 2023, finding that participants in an employer-sponsored defined contribution retirement plan...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Splitting with Other Circuit Courts, the Ninth Circuit Revives an ERISA Prohibited Transaction Claim

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules are notoriously complex and opaque. On August 4, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued an important decision on those prohibited transaction rules that arguably conflicts with decision from the...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

Industry Coalition Unites to Support Dismissal of ERISA Fiduciary-Breach Claims Related To BlackRock Target Date Funds

The filing of a new 401(k) plan “excessive fee” or “investment underperformance” complaint is hardly “news” these days given the proliferation of suits that have been filed over the past several years. In fact, hardly a week...more

Foley Hoag LLP

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

Foley Hoag LLP on

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

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

DOL Warns Against Plan Investments in Cryptocurrency

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

Given the current market volatility, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) concerns related to the addition of cryptocurrencies in qualified retirement plans seems prescient. In Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01, the...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

DOL Raises “Serious Concerns” About 401(k) Plan Investments in Cryptocurrencies

On March 10, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 (the “Release”, available here) which cautions ERISA plan fiduciaries to exercise “extreme care” before they consider...more

Stoel Rives LLP

ERISA Litigation Update: ERISA Fiduciary Duty of Prudence: Fees and Monitoring Investment Options

Stoel Rives LLP on

Briefed - - Lawsuits targeting ERISA fiduciaries and sponsors are skyrocketing. - A recent SCOTUS decision confirmed duty of prudence requires the fiduciary to monitor plan investment options and remove imprudent...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

DOL Warns 401(k) Plan Fiduciaries about Cryptocurrency Investments

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

Investments in Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are becoming more and more mainstream. Driven by outrageous returns, and presenting outrageous volatility and risk, both traditional institutional and individual...more

Perkins Coie

2022 Cybersecurity Issues and Recommendations for ERISA Plan Fiduciaries

Perkins Coie on

New cybersecurity developments and observations, including those relating to U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) review of cybersecurity issues, warrant prompt consideration by plan sponsors and other fiduciaries of employee...more

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