Prudent appointment and monitoring of Russell Investments Trust Company (“Russell”) as an ERISA section 3(38) investment manager by the 401(k) Plan Committee (“Committee”) for the Caesars Entertainment Corporation Savings & Retirement Plan (“Plan”) recently paid dividends for the Committee and the plan sponsor, Caesars Holdings, Inc. (“Caesars”)
2. Courts Differ On What Is Required To Support Fiduciary Breach Claims
With a potential government shutdown as early as October 1, plan sponsors and fiduciaries should be aware of how a lapse in federal funding could affect both retirement and health and welfare plan operations, IRS filings, and regulatory oversight of plans. While some government functions are expected to continue during a shutdown, others may be
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (“Order”) directing the Department of Labor (“Department”) and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to, no later than February 3, 2026, issue rules or guidance – potentially including a safe harbor – intended to encourage the inclusion of alternative assets, such as private equity, cryptocurrency
The Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration recently issued Pooled Employer Plans: Big Plans for Small Businesses, which contains interpretive guidance that seeks to encourage the establishment and adoption of pooled employer plans (“PEPs”) by demonstrating how DOL currently believes that PEPs can minimize employers’ fiduciary risks. The
A rapidly growing line of ERISA cases seeks to impose fiduciary standards of conduct—developed by courts largely in the retirement plan context—to health plan design choices. The most recent, Barbich et al. v. Northwestern University et al., No. 1:25-cv-06849 (N.D. Ill.) filed on June 20, 2025, involves a new and potentially disruptive twist: plaintiffs
On June 30, 2025, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in M&K Employee Solutions, LLC et al. v. Trustees of the IAM Nat’l Pension Fund to address whether the requirement under ERISA section 4211 that multiemployer pension plans compute withdrawal liability based on the plan’s unfunded vested benefits “as of the end” of the plan year
On March 28, 2025, two neighboring district courts issued sharply contrasting decisions on constitutional standing in lawsuits challenging pension risk transfers under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”). The United States District Court for the District of Columbia, in Camire et al. v. Alcoa USA Corp. (“Alcoa Decision”)
In a closely watched ERISA case, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado has issued an order affirming the Magistrate Judge’s ruling in Harrison v. Envision Management Holding, Inc. Board of Directors et al (Case No. 21-cv-00304), concerning the discoverability of Department of Labor (“DOL”) interview reports plaintiffs had obtained under a
Earlier this year, current and former participants of two ERISA-governed health plans filed complaints alleging the same novel legal theory: that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by mismanaging the plan’s prescription drug benefits. In both complaints, plaintiffs alleged that the mismanagement was caused in part by the plans paying excessive and unreasonable fees to their respective