On April 14, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2026-01 (FAB) which sets out four enforcement priorities and guiding principles that are designed to ensure that EBSA’s enforcement “is fair, even-handed, responsive, and focused” and its enforcement authority is used in a manner
Prudence
No Monetary Harm, No Foul? Not Quite, but American Airlines Not Required to Pay Any Monetary Damages in ERISA ESG Breach of Loyalty Case
By Mary Grace Richardson & Adam Scoll on
On September 30, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a final judgment on damages in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 4:23-cv-552 (N.D. Tex. Sept. 30, 2025), which related to challenges that American Airlines and its employee benefits committee (“AA”) violated their ERISA fiduciary…
401(k) Plan Fiduciaries Breached ERISA’s Duty of Loyalty By Allowing ESG Interests To Influence Management Of The Plan
By Russell Hirschhorn, Seth Safra, Adam Scoll & Sydney Juliano on
Last week, Judge Reed O’Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued the first-of-its-kind ruling on the merits pertaining to environmental, social, and corporate governance (“ESG”) investing in ERISA-covered retirement plans. In his 70-page Opinion, Judge O’Connor concluded that the plan fiduciaries of American Airlines’ (the “Plan Sponsor’s”) 401(k) plans…
Fifth Circuit Upholds Dismissal of Diversification and Prudence Claims Targeting A Single Stock Fund in a 401(k) Plan
The Fifth Circuit in Schweitzer v. Inv. Comm. of Phillips 66 Sav. Plan dismissed claims against 401(k) plan fiduciaries related to allowing plan participants to hold a single stock that was not an employer security as a plan investment alternative. No. 18-cv-20379, 2020 WL 2611542 (5th Cir. May 22, 2020). The Court held that: (i)…