On July 28, 2025, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Request for Information (RFI) regarding the current usage and operations of pooled employer plans (PEPs), as well as obstacles that are discouraging smaller employers from offering their employees retirement benefits through a PEP. A PEP is a type of retirement plan that enables multiple unrelated employers to participate in a single plan managed by a pooled plan provider. PEPs were established by the Setting [...]

Since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has modified its policies on various issues related to employee benefits. These policy changes include a pause on mental health parity enforcement, rescission of guidance on cryptocurrency for 401(k) plan fiduciaries, and replacement of the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rule when retirement plans are choosing investment options. DOL's Pause on Mental Health Parity Enforcement In May 2025, the [...]

Members of our employee benefits and executive compensation team have kicked off 2025 by speaking at conferences around the country about benefits and compensation topics that have been garnering extra attention recently. We have highlighted a few of those topics below: The Securities and Exchange Commission has continued bringing enforcement actions against companies for allegedly impeding employees from communicating with the SEC, such as by requiring employees to forgo whistleblower awards or forbidding them [...]