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Today's Popular Updates Fiduciary Duty Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)

A repository for the most well-read content on JD Supra at any given time, along with occasional roundups of popular content by specific topic. Also stop by for monthly recaps of hot articles for the previous... more +
A repository for the most well-read content on JD Supra at any given time, along with occasional roundups of popular content by specific topic. Also stop by for monthly recaps of hot articles for the previous thirty days. less -
King & Spalding

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

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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

Husch Blackwell LLP

Employers Continue to Face ERISA Tobacco Surcharge Lawsuits, With Mixed Results

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Recently, companies have seen a spate of class action lawsuits challenging the legality of tobacco cessation wellness programs and related tobacco surcharges imposed by their employer-sponsored health benefit plans....more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

New DOL Guidance for Retirement Plans on Cryptocurrency and ESG Investments

The new administration has recently taken steps to revise guidance with respect to two retirement plan investment options: cryptocurrency, and funds focusing on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors. These two...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

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

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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

Carlton Fields

DOL ESG Rule Withstands Demolition of Chevron Deference

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In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the U.S. Supreme Court knocked down Chevron U.S.A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council Inc., leaving the doctrine of Chevron deference in rubble. The doctrine stated that, when a...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Lowers Bar to Pleading Prohibited Transactions, Despite “Serious Concerns” of Meritless Litigation

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In a unanimous decision reversing dismissal of prohibited transaction claims based on fees paid to defined contribution plan recordkeepers, the Supreme Court held that ERISA’s prohibited transaction exemptions are affirmative...more

A&O Shearman

Texas court upholds Biden administration’s rule on ESG Investing for ERISA fiduciaries

A&O Shearman on

In a recent decision by the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2022 Rule (the 2022 Rule) on environmental, social, and governance (ESG)...more

Morgan Lewis

DOL’s VFCP Final Rule Adds Limited ‘Self-Correction’ Program for Late Contributions, Participant Loan Failures

Morgan Lewis on

The Employee Benefits Security Administration recently released its final rule amending and restating the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program, along with corresponding amendments to a related class exemption, Prohibited...more

Fenwick & West LLP

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

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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

Fisher Phillips

Rising ERISA Class-Action Lawsuits Over Tobacco Surcharges in Health Plans: What Employers Need to Know + 6 Steps to Stay...

Fisher Phillips on

A wave of ERISA class-action lawsuits is challenging tobacco surcharge programs in employer-sponsored health plans across the U.S. These cases center on potential fiduciary breaches, with plaintiffs arguing that surcharges...more

Foster Swift Collins & Smith

DOL Echoes Employee Benefits and Cybersecurity Best Practices

On April 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) issued its first cybersecurity best practices guidance for retirement plans. The EBSA guidance was highly...more

Fisher Phillips

Don't Forget About ERISA in Your Health Plan’s Cybersecurity Efforts: Important Reminders for Plan Fiduciaries in the Wake of...

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Earlier this year, a cyberattack on a leading healthcare claims processing provider had an unprecedented impact on patients and healthcare providers across the country. While group health plans were not directly targeted in...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Are You a Fiduciary? The New Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary

On April 25, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) issued a final rule, the “Retirement Security Rule,” that significantly alters the definition of a “fiduciary” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

ERISA Group Health Plans – The New Target in Fee Cases

Earlier this year, a Johnson & Johnson (“J&J”) employee brought a class action complaint (the “Complaint”) against J&J alleging fiduciary breaches under ERISA related to the prescription drug coverage under J&J’s self-funded...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

EDVA Judge Allows Pension Investment Expert to Testify in Class Action ERISA Case

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A recent decision by Senior District Judge Robert Payne on a Daubert motion in class action litigation against a pension fund offers some helpful lessons on challenging expert witnesses in the EDVA. Trauernicht v. Genworth...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Navigating the Impact of the New Fiduciary Rule on Insurers and Producers

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DoL”) released its final rule (“Fiduciary Rule”) titled Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary (an “Investment Advice Fiduciary”), which...more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

DOL Finalizes PTE 84-24 Amendments

On April 25, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) published its much-anticipated final regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” under section 3(21)(a)(ii) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as...more

Hogan Lovells

Department of Labor issues final regulation on investment advice fiduciaries

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On April 23, 2024, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a final regulation (the “Final Rule”) that describes the circumstances under which a person will be considered a fiduciary for purposes of the Employee Retirement...more

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP

Appeals Court Revives AGG Class Action Against UnitedHealth Group for Federal Mental Health Parity Law Violations

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled on April 11, 2024, that AGG’s class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries for the wrongful and systematic denial of mental health and...more

Paul Hastings LLP

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

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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

Holland & Knight LLP

Plaintiffs Request Court Approval of $8.7M Settlement in ERISA Class Action Cyberattack Lawsuit

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Multi-employer plan participants involved in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) class action lawsuit against Horizon Actuarial Services LLC (Horizon), a national retirement services firm, have entered...more

Proskauer - Employee Benefits & Executive...

New York District Court Rejects ERISA Excessive Fee Claims as Insufficient

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

Goodwin

Department of Labor Finalizes Amendments to Investment Duties Regulation

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On December 1, 2022, the Department of Labor (DOL) released final amendments to its regulation on investment duties under Section 404(a) of ERISA. The amendments will go into effect on January 30, 2023....more

Groom Law Group, Chartered

DOL Cybersecurity Investigations: The Trap Door to Endless Document Requests?

Parties involved in a Department of Labor (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) investigation often ask a simple question: how much information am I obligated to provide the DOL in response to an...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

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

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

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