DOL

On Wednesday, April 18th, the SEC introduced a much-anticipated package of proposed rules and formal guidance concerning the standards of conduct for financial professionals. The more than 1,000-page proposal, which emerged eight years after Congress required the agency to conduct a study on the topic, addresses whether investment advisers and…
Continue Reading SEC Proposal Dives Into Long-Standing Debate About the Duties of Investment Professionals

Our colleague Jason Levy recently published an article in The Actuary Magazine on the Department of Labor’s fiduciary conflict rule.  More than six years in the making, this rule represents perhaps the most significant regulation from the DOL during the Obama Administration.

The fiduciary conflict rule expands the definition of fiduciary to cover, with certain exceptions, all investment advice provided to a retirement plan (like a 401(k) plan, defined benefit pension plan, or an IRA), or to a participant or beneficiary in any of those retirement plans.  The rule imposes fiduciary status on a broad category of professionals, including many broker-dealers who previously had taken the position that they were not investment advice fiduciaries based on a DOL regulation that had been in place since 1975.

In contrast to the sweeping changes it imposes on investment advice professionals, the fiduciary conflict rule will have a far more modest effect on employers.  The rule is not intended to confer fiduciary status on sponsors of retirement plans.  Likewise, there had been concern under the proposed version of the rule that human resources and other employees who interact with participants might be considered fiduciaries when they discuss retirement plan investments with their co-workers.  However, the final version of the rule provides that, absent unusual circumstances, such employees would not be covered.

Nevertheless, the fiduciary conflict rule has important implications for employers that sponsor retirement plans.Continue Reading What Employers Need to Know About the Fiduciary Conflict Rule

On January 20, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) issued new guidance on joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).  The guidance marks the third time in recent years that WHD has stressed the broad definition of “employment” under the FLSA, following June 2014 guidance on joint employment in the home health care industry and July 2015 guidance on misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  WHD’s consistent focus reiterates that the agency believes that many workers are classified incorrectly and will focus its enforcement activity on these areas.
Continue Reading DOL Issues Guidance on Its Broad View of Joint Employment

The ERISA Advisory Council held a hearing last week on “Model Notices and Disclosures for Pension Risk Transfers.”  The Council, which advises the Secretary of Labor on the Labor Department’s administration of ERISA, is working to develop model disclosures to participants who receive lump sum offers in connection with de-risking transactions.  While the Council is focused on lump sums offered in connection with limited election windows, the model disclosures might apply any time an individual is offered a lump sum distribution in lieu of an annuity benefit.

The Council heard testimony from several witnesses, many of whom proposed text or offered suggestions to be included in model disclosures—including testimony by our own Robert Newman of Covington & Burling LLP.  While the Council deliberates, employers conducting lump sum windows might wish to consider some of the disclosures suggested at the hearing.
Continue Reading ERISA Advisory Council Considers Model Lump Sum Window Disclosures

Two cases decided in January—one by the Sixth Circuit and another by the District Court for the District of Columbia—offer a cautionary tale to plan sponsors who rely on a statute or regulation that allows retroactive amendments to tax-qualified plans. Both cases involved a change to the interest and mortality assumptions that pension plans use to calculate the minimum amount of a lump sum distribution. The change was expressly authorized by a statute, but the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation said “not so fast”—leaving the plan sponsors responsible for several million dollars in additional liabilities.

The cases offer a cautionary tale for plan sponsors: practices that are permitted in one context will not necessarily be accepted in other contexts. For this reason, it is important to conduct a thorough analysis before relying on agency guidance or accepted practice.Continue Reading Two Recent Cases Offer Cautionary Tale to Plan Sponsors Relying on IRS Guidance

A recent GAO Report offers interesting insight into the Department of Labor’s thinking on electronic disclosure.

For the better part of the last ten years, many plan sponsors and service providers have been pushing for more flexibility to provide required disclosures electronically.  In particular, they have asked the Labor and Treasury Departments to replace an existing “opt in” regime with an “opt out” regime.  Instead of requiring affirmative consent to distribute communications electronically, many plan sponsors and service providers would like the default to be electronic disclosure–with an opportunity to elect to receive paper.

In 2011, the Department of Labor issued a public request for information regarding electronic disclosures.  The responses included thoughtful suggestions for moving toward an “opt out” regime while still ensuring that important communications are actually received.  The Department has not formally taken action in response to the RFI, but comments included in the GAO report offer insight into the Department’s thinking.

The GAO report summarizes the existing Labor and Treasury rules on electronic disclosure, and offers three suggestions for improvement:
Continue Reading Electronic Disclosure: Which Way Are We Going?

The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General recently issued a report detailing concerns with the valuation of alternative investments (such as private equity funds, hedge funds, and real estate) held by ERISA plans.  ERISA requires plan sponsors and fiduciaries to value investments for several purposes, including to determine funding obligations, select investments, monitor investment performance, and file accurate financial statements.  The report notes that many plan fiduciaries rely on valuations provided by managers of alternative investments without analyzing the basis for the valuation or seeking independent review.  The report suggests that this practice poses substantial risks to the retirement system and urges the Labor Department to require more rigorous valuation methodology.
Continue Reading ERISA Plans’ Valuation of Private Equity and Other Alternative Investments Draws Increased Scrutiny

The Department of Labor issued a technical release today addressing the effect of the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor on employee benefit plans.  The Windsor decision struck down section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, thereby requiring the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages that are recognized…
Continue Reading Not To Miss the Party, Department of Labor Joins the Place Of Celebration Approach Following Windsor

On July 31st, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) of the Department of Labor submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) a final rule revising federal regulations regarding affirmative action for individuals with disabilities by covered federal contractors and subcontractors. If adopted, the regulations would mark…
Continue Reading DOL Moves Forward with Disability Hiring Rules for Government Contractors