Last May, we provided a client alert about a recent federal district court case (Spence v. American Airlines, No. 4:23-cv-00552-O, 2025 WL 225127, at *2 (N.D. Tex. Jan. 10, 2025)), in which a plan sponsor and certain plan fiduciaries were found to have breached their ERISA fiduciary duty of loyalty based primarily on conduct related to proxy voting of securities held in certain of the 401(k) plans’ investment funds. At that time, the court left open the question of whether the breach resulted in any damages to the participants.
ESG Investing in 401(k) Plans – More Rule Changes on the Way
In our recent client alert, “Texas Federal Court Allows an ERISA Fiduciary Challenge Against Alleged “ESG Investing” Without Any ESG Funds,” we reported that a Texas district court recently upheld Biden-administration Department of Labor (DOL) rules permitting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations as “tie breakers” in selecting 401(k) plan investments. The district court, following instructions from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, applied a Loper Bright “post-Chevron” analysis to hold that the Biden-era rules were validly issued.
Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation: Getting Ready for 2024 – Qualified Plans
In the inaugural episode of Troutman Pepper’s three-part Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation podcast miniseries, hosts Lynne Wakefield, Constance Brewster, and Brianna Hourihan discuss recent legislative developments and pressing issues in the qualified retirement plan space. They delve into the key provisions of SECURE 2.0, proposed regulations on the use of forfeitures, the expansion of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (EPCRS), and recent litigation trends, as well as year-end administrative tasks.