Blog Posts
Category: Fiduciary Duties
On March 30, 2026, the Department of Labor issued a proposed regulation purporting to implement an executive order to expand access to “alternative...
Introduction Maine’s new Act to Improve Accountability and Understanding of Data in Insurance Transactions (the “Audit Act” or “Act”)...
Participants in 401(k) plans and other defined contribution retirement plans may soon have the opportunity to invest their plan accounts in a variety...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision Cunningham v. Cornell University, 145 S.Ct. 1020 (2025) significantly lowers the pleading standard for...
Since we last discussed environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) developments in the context of ERISA retirement plans (see our...
Retirement plan fiduciaries have a new option for handling small benefit payments owed to missing participants and beneficiaries thanks to a...
The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury, with the Office of Personnel Management (the “Departments”)...
The long-anticipated final rule under the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was published on September 9, 2024. The MHPAEA...
Summer is ending and fall is rapidly approaching. For employee benefit professionals with calendar-year health and welfare benefit plans that means...
In our December 7, 2023 post, we noted five class action lawsuits, all filed by the same law firm within two months, in which 401(k) plan...
For the past few years, we have encouraged plan sponsors to focus on matters of fiduciary governance for their health and welfare benefit plans (see...
On October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor published a new proposed regulation (the “Proposed Rule”) defining “investment advice” for...
The debate over investment of retirement plan funds based on environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) factors continues to make...
Two recent court decisions bring into focus two seldom-asked questions about the reasonable compensation requirement under ERISA. When must an ERISA...
Certain provisions of the Transparency in Coverage Final Regulations and the Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2021 (“CAA”) require group health...
The United States Supreme Court has agreed with participants in two 403(b) plans sponsored by Northwestern University that their lawsuit, alleging...
The latest installment in the regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social,...
ERISA Fiduciary Duties and Liability Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), a plan fiduciary must...
The Acme Rocket Sled Company Retirement Plan Administration Committee recently selected a new investment advisor for the company’s 401(k) plan....
This post provides a high-level summary of the Department of Labor’s cybersecurity guidance issued in April and identifies actions retirement plan...
Employers have long understood the importance of fiduciary compliance with respect to 401(k) plans and other retirement plans subject to ERISA, and...
The first major settlement of a lawsuit challenging the mortality assumptions used to calculate pension plan benefits was announced earlier this...
The recent regulatory back-and-forth over the investment of ERISA-governed retirement plan assets based on environmental, social, and corporate...
Last month, we advised readers of this blog to consider efforts to formalize the fiduciary governance of their health and welfare benefit plans. In...
The fiduciary standards of ERISA apply to all employee benefit plans that are subject to Title I of ERISA. The duty of loyalty, the duty of prudence,...
This Client Advisory highlights important developments in the law governing employee benefit plans over the past year. It offers insight into what...
Eight years ago, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued “tips” for retirement plan fiduciaries to consider when selecting and monitoring...
On November 9, 2020, the Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Retirement Plans Committee of IBM...
On June 23, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a proposed regulation outlining the duties of an ERISA fiduciary when considering...
In Thole v. U.S. Bank, a 5-4 Supreme Court decision issued on June 1, the Court held that retired participants in a defined benefit pension plan lack...