Spence v. American Airlines: Expanding the Playing Field for Fiduciary Liability?
A federal court in Texas has ruled that American Airlines breached its duty of loyalty under ERISA by failing to respond to activities undertaken by a plan investment manager (BlackRock) supporting ESG initiatives. The court was unable to find a breach of prudence—rather it relied solely on the obligation of “loyalty.”
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Court of Appeals Strikes Down Fiduciary Rule
On March 15 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck down the DOL’s new fiduciary rule. This adds yet more uncertainty and confusion to a regulatory, legal and political tale that already has more than its share of … uncertainty and confusion. This blog post tries to make some sense of what […]
The New Federalism: Employee Benefits in the Laboratory
The past year has seen a number of articles describing new state laws covering a range of benefits-related areas. Examples include New York State’s new paid leave act and Nevada’s law regulating fiduciary behavior. And more such laws are around the corner – a recent Kaiser Health News article noted that at least nine states […]