On August 9, 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) stated in a court filing that the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) is reviewing a proposal to extend the applicability date for certain requirements under DOL’s fiduciary rule until July 1, 2019. As discussed here and here the fiduciary rule’s “impartial conduct standards” have been in effect since June 9, 2017; but other requirements, including the written contract required under the Best Interest Contract exemption and certain disclosure requirements, have been delayed pending DOL’s review of the rule. DOL’s request suggests that DOL will need significantly more time to complete its review of the rule.
Fiduciary Rules
DOL Again Seeks Comments on New Fiduciary Rules and Exemptions
By Benjamin Saper, Russell Hirschhorn & Seth Safra on
On June 29, 2017, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) requested another round of public comment on its fiduciary rule—this time in the form of a Request (“RFI”) for Information. The RFI seeks input on (a) whether to extend the January 1, 2018, applicability date for parts of the rule that are not yet in effect,…
Department of Labor’s New Fiduciary Rule Will Go Into Effect June 9th
By Benjamin Saper, Russell Hirschhorn & Seth Safra on
The Department of Labor has announced that the new fiduciary conflict of interest rule and related exemptions will begin taking effect on June 9, 2017, ending speculation of further delay. At the same time, the Department announced a relaxed enforcement standard for the rest of 2017. See our blog post on the delayed effective date…
DOL Fiduciary Rule Delayed, But At Least Parts Might Be Here to Stay
By Russell Hirschhorn & Seth Safra on
On April 4, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a final rule postponing applicability of the conflict of interest rule and related exemptions for sixty days, until June 9, 2017. The stated purpose of the extension is to allow more time to: (i) complete the examination required by President Trump’s February 3, 2017 memorandum,…
IRS Issues Temporary Enforcement Policy In Line with DOL FAB 2017-01
By Benjamin Saper & Russell Hirschhorn on
On the heels of the Department of Labor’s temporary enforcement policy concerning the DOL conflict of interest rule and related exemptions (see our blog post here), the IRS announced that it is providing relief from excise taxes under Code § 4975 that conforms to the DOL’s temporary enforcement policy described in FAB 2017-01. The…
No Emergency Injunction Appeal in Chamber’s Challenge to DOL Rule
By Benjamin Saper & Russell Hirschhorn on
On March 20, 2017, a federal court in the Northern District of Texas denied the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s emergency motion for an injunction pending appeal challenging implementation of the Department’s conflict of interest rule and related exemptions. The court applied the standard for evaluating a preliminary injunction motion and concluded that: (i) the Department…
USDOL Prevails in Kansas in Another Decision on Fiduciary Rule
By Benjamin Saper & Russell Hirschhorn on
On February 17, 2017, a federal district Court in Kansas upheld the U.S. Department of Labor’s conflict of interest rule and related exemptions in a suit brought by Market Synergy Group, Inc. This ruling on the merits follows the court’s prior ruling in November 2016 denying Market Synergy Group’s request for a temporary injunction. The…
Update on the USDOL Conflict of Interest Rule and Related Exemptions
By Benjamin Saper & Russell Hirschhorn on
There were two key developments last week concerning the ongoing challenges to the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) conflict of interest rule and related exemptions: a Presidential Memorandum calling for a review of the rule, and a ruling by a federal court in Texas rejecting the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s challenges to the rule.
Presidential…
D.C. Court of Appeals Denies Emergency Request to Halt Conflict of Interest Rule and Related Exemptions
By Benjamin Saper & Russell Hirschhorn on
On December 15, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied the emergency request from the National Association for Fixed Annuities (“NAFA”) for an injunction blocking the implementation of the Department of Labor’s conflict of interest rule and related exemptions. Nat’l Ass’n for Fixed Annuities v. U.S. Dep’t of Labor, D.C. Cir., No. 16-5345, per curiam order 12/15/16. In a one-paragraph order, the panel ruled that NAFA “has not satisfied the stringent requirements for an injunction pending appeal.” NAFA’s challenge to the rule had already been rejected twice by Judge Moss in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (see our blog here).
DOL Prevails in Kansas Litigation Challenging Conflict of Interest Rule and Related Exemptions
By Benjamin Saper & Russell Hirschhorn on
On November 28, 2016, Judge Crabtree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor and denied the motion for a preliminary injunction filed by the Market Synergy Group, Inc., challenging implementation of the Department’s conflict of interest rule and related exemptions. Mkt. Synergy Grp., Inc. v. United States Dep’t of Labor, No. 16-CV-4083-DDC-KGS, 2016 WL 6948061 (D. Kan. Nov. 28, 2016). The court held that Market Synergy was not likely to prove that: