This is the beginning of a series on the implications of today’s National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) decision that Northwestern’s football players, “are employees of the school and therefore entitled to hold an election to decide whether to unionize,” according to The Chicago Tribune. We’re going to start by focusing…
The Seventh Circuit recently handed down an expansive ruling that increases the ability of employees to seek damages against benefit plan fiduciaries under ERISA. The ruling had three components: 1) that an employee can seek “make-whole” money damages if the employer breached its fiduciary duty in misrepresenting the scope of…
Ok. Well. Probably not, but this might be a useful (maybe even fun) way to review the factors for determining what is and what is not a “plan” under ERISA. So, let’s give it a shot. First, the law: The Saints are operated in Louisiana, so we will look…
According to this article from Pensions & Investments, half of employers could not accurate indentify the fees charged to participants in their 401(k) plans. As we’ve discussed in earlier posts, such as this one about 401(k) plans for small businesses, ERISA’s fiduciary provisions are expansive. It is hard to imagine…
When you look over the investment options in your retirement plan, you probably see a 2020 fund, a 2030 fund, a 2040 fund, and on up the line. Those are “target date funds.” They can be mutual funds, exchange traded funds, or pooled separate accounts. But what are they and…
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (“CalSTRS”), America’s second largest pension fund, announced that it would vote its nearly six million shares against the retention of Wal-Mart’s board of directors. This decision comes in the wake of Wal-Mart’s ongoing Mexican bribery scandal. This is an important story for pension governance and fiduciary…
Are the losses in your 401(k) plan due to poor investment performance or high administrative fees? Or both? Could either have been avoided? And whose responsibility was it to oversee those issues? Retirement plans are governed by obscure law, are complex in nature, and include complicated investment products. Participants rarely…
Check out this entry by Suzanne Wynn at The Pension Protection Act Blog on the 6th Circuits recent discussion on whether ERISA’s 6 year statute of limitations on fraud requires actual concealment by fiduciaries. It’s a good read and we’ll address this issue on the Erlich Law Blog at a…
Should Your Small Business Have a 401(k)? Small business owners often feel that offering a retirement savings plan legitimizes their business and makes them more competitive in the hiring market. Whether or not these perceptions are true, very few small businesses understand the legal implications of offering a 401(k). Before…