Popular, Fiduciary Duty, 401k

Executive Order Seeks to Promote Incorporation of Alternative Assets in 401(k) Plans

King & Spalding on 8/12/2025

On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order entitled “Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors” (the “Executive Order”),1 requiring the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the Securities...more

DOL Rescinds 2022 Guidance Cautioning Against 401(k) Plan Investments in Cryptocurrencies

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 5/30/2025

On May 28, 2025, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2025-01 which rescinds the DOL’s prior Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-1 which had warned 401(k) plan fiduciaries against adding...more

Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged "ESG Investing" Without Any ESG Funds

Troutman Pepper Locke on 5/16/2025

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

Judge Finds American Airlines Breached its Fiduciary Duty of Loyalty by Allowing Investment Manager to Prioritize ESG Goals with...

Fenwick & West LLP on 1/20/2025

On January 10, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas found that American Airlines and its employee benefit committee (EBC) breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty under the Employee Retirement...more

New York District Court Rejects ERISA Excessive Fee Claims as Insufficient

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 1/25/2023

A district court in New York recently dismissed a putative class action challenging retirement plan recordkeeping and investment management fees. The case is Singh v. Deloitte LLP, No. 21-cv-8458, 2023 WL 186679 (S.D.N.Y....more

DOL Expresses Extreme Concern Over Prudence of Cryptocurrency Investments in 401(k) Plans

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC on 6/23/2022

On March 10, 2022, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) published Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-01 (Release) addressing “cryptocurrency” investment in 401(k) retirement plans. In its Release, the DOL expressed...more

Brokerage Window Fiduciary Duties in Light of DOL Cryptocurrency Guidance

Kilpatrick on 5/2/2022

The DOL’s (DOL) recent warning that it is launching a new investigative program aimed at plans that offer investments in cryptocurrency and related products, including through brokerage windows, sent shockwaves through the...more

DOL Warns Sponsors against Permitting Cryptocurrency-Related Investments on 401(k) Plan Investment Menus

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP on 4/12/2022

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) last month issued Compliance Assistance Release No. 2022-1 - 401(k) Plan Investments in “Cryptocurrencies” (the “Release”) in which it strongly cautions ERISA plan fiduciaries to use...more

Is Crypto Too Cryptic for Your 401(k) Plan?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on 3/22/2022

It started sometime last year and, in hindsight, was inevitable. Clients with 401(k) plans and a crypto-savvy employee population began asking whether they could offer cryptocurrency as a plan investment option. In the...more

Department of Labor Teases Cryptocurrency Interest

Morgan Lewis - ML Benefits on 9/30/2021

Hinting that the US Department of Labor (DOL) is currently working on guidance related to cryptocurrency, the Acting Assistant Secretary for the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration recently commented that the DOL...more

American Airlines 401(k) Plan Not Required To Offer Stable Value Fund

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 8/18/2020

Among the many claims brought by plaintiffs challenging investment offerings in defined contribution plans is the claim that plans should offer stable value funds in lieu of more conservative capital preservation funds, such...more

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear IBM’s Challenge to Second Circuit Ruling in ERISA Stock-Drop Suit

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive... on 6/4/2019

In December 2018, we reported here that the Second Circuit became the first court at any level to allow an ERISA stock-drop claim to survive a motion to dismiss since the Supreme Court revamped the pleading standard for such...more

Oracle Granted Partial Summary Judgment in 401(k) Fees/Investment Option Case

McDermott Will & Schulte on 3/26/2019

The US District Court for the District of Colorado granted partial summary judgment to 401(k) fiduciaries, holding that ERISA’s six-year statute of repose barred some claims and rejecting challenges to the plan’s fees....more

Victory for NYU After First Trial in the 401(k) Fee Cases Filed Against Colleges and Universities

Littler on 8/13/2018

In the past two years, more than 16 prominent colleges and universities across the country have been targeted by class action lawsuits filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) challenging the fees and...more

Home Depot is the next 401(k) lawsuit target

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C. on 4/17/2018

The company that told us we can do home improvement by ourselves might not have been able to properly run their 401(k) plan. Home Depot is now the target of a $140 million class-action lawsuit that was filed in the U.S....more

DOL Extends Fiduciary Rule Transition Period, Issues FAQs on Fee Disclosures

Kilpatrick on 8/10/2017

Transition Period Extension - In an August 9th court filing, the DOL announced it will extend the transition period for three prohibited transaction exemptions relating to the fiduciary investment advice rule (the...more

Checklist for Strengthening Your Defenses to 401k Plan Class Actions

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 8/7/2017

The last ten years have seen a proliferation of high-profile class actions alleging breach of ERISA fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty against plan fiduciaries. The claims are usually based upon alleged excessive...more

Data Breach Risks for 401(k) and Retirement Plans

Jones Day on 4/18/2017

There has been a recent spike in attacks on 401(k) and retirement plans by cyber criminals. Some have been reported publicly, and we are aware of several nonpublic incidents as well....more

ERISA Litigation Newsletter - July 2016

Proskauer Rose LLP on 8/1/2016

Editor's Overview - This month we take a look at the plaintiffs' past successes in fee litigations, and the influx of such lawsuits seeking to impose heightened fiduciary standards for 401(k) plans. Regardless of the...more

It Happened, It Happened: Small 401(k) Plan Sued

Ary Rosenbaum - The Rosenbaum Law Firm P.C. on 5/25/2016

I love boxing and one of my favorite fights is when George Foreman shocked the world and knocked out Michael Moorer to become heavyweight champion at age 45. Jim Lampley doing the HBO broadcast proclaimed: “it happened! It...more

“They’re Here!” – Department of Labor Issues Final ERISA Fiduciary and Conflict of Interest Regulations

Clark Hill PLC on 4/7/2016

After receiving and reviewing extensive feedback on its earlier proposals, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued final regulations expanding the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

One-Time Anomaly Or Potential Turning Of The Tides? A Review Of The Supreme Court's 2014-2015 Term

Fisher Phillips on 8/7/2015

In a marked departure from the overwhelming success employers experienced before the Supreme Court in recent years, the less successful recently wrapped 2014-2015 term could be an indication that the judicial tides may be...more

Supreme Court Ruling Heightens Pressure on Fiduciaries to Monitor 401(k) Plan Investments

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP on 5/26/2015

On May 18th, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Tibble et al. v. Edison International et al., No. 13-550 (S. Ct. May 18, 2015) that ordinary principles of trust law impose on ERISA fiduciaries a duty to continually...more

Unanimous Supreme Court Vacates Tibble v. Edison International: Much Ado About Nothing? Or Something More?

BakerHostetler on 5/22/2015

On May 18, 2015, the United State Supreme Court, by a 9-0 vote, vacated and remanded the Ninth Circuit’s holding in Tibble, et al. v. Edison International, et al., 729 F.3d 1110 (9th Cir. 2013). Tibble is an “excessive fee”...more

Third Circuit Limits ERISA Fiduciary Liability

Carlton Fields on 1/5/2015

Former and current annuity holders sued John Hancock Life Insurance Company in New Jersey federal court several years ago, alleging that, as a service provider to their 401(k) plans, John Hancock was an ERISA fiduciary and...more

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