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5 03, 2021

Biden’s 36-Year-Old Economist Has Her Eye on an Equal Recovery

2021-03-05T15:42:58-08:00March 5th, 2021|Categories: Economy|Tags: , |

In a one-bedroom apartment above a Washington neighborhood of bars, clubs and brunch spots, Janelle Jones is busy trying to fix the U.S. labor market -- one economic report and one Mario Kart race at a time. The Biden administration appointed the 36-year-old as the Department of Labor’s chief economist, a little-known position that will influence the futures of millions of people. In between wading through endless spreadsheets, enduring hours of video meetings and analyzing reams of economic data, [...]

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4 02, 2021

Walsh pledges revamped effort on worker rights

2021-02-04T14:23:56-08:00February 4th, 2021|Categories: Economy|Tags: , |

Tackling issues on workers' rights and safety will be top of mind for Marty Walsh if he's confirmed to lead the Department of Labor, but he also vowed to address the mounting multiemployer pension crisis during his Senate confirmation hearing Thursday. Mr. Walsh, who has served as Boston's mayor since 2014 and is President Joe Biden's nominee for labor secretary, has an extensive labor background, including leading the Boston Metropolitan District Building Trades Council from 2011-2013. Retirement issues weren't [...]

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21 01, 2021

Biden team to review Labor Department ESG rule

2021-01-21T13:53:40-08:00January 21st, 2021|Categories: ESG|Tags: , , |

The Biden administration will review a recent Department of Labor rule stipulating that ERISA plan fiduciaries cannot invest in "non-pecuniary" vehicles that sacrifice investment returns or take on additional risk. In his first few hours in office Wednesday, President Joe Biden signed a flurry of executive orders, including one titled "Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis." In the order, Mr. Biden directed all executive departments and agencies "to immediately review and, [...]

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20 01, 2021

Labor Department names new ERISA Advisory Council members

2021-01-20T11:18:16-08:00January 20th, 2021|Categories: ERISA|Tags: , |

The Department of Labor on Tuesday appointed five members to its ERISA Advisory Council. It also announced that Glenn Butash will remain chairman of the 15-member council in 2021, a position he's held since July, and James Haubrock will serve as vice chairman. Mr. Butash is managing counsel for U.S. compensation and benefits at Nokia Corp., where he provides legal advice in connection with the design and operation of large, complex defined benefit, defined contribution and welfare benefit plans. [...]

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5 11, 2020

DOL, Dubious About ESG Pension Investing, Cuts It a Bit of Slack in Final Rule

2020-11-05T15:48:37-08:00November 5th, 2020|Categories: ESG|Tags: , |

The Department of Labor (DOL) on Friday eased its stance a small amount against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing, but it remained determined in its declaration in a final rule that Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) plan fiduciaries must make investment decisions that won’t sacrifice returns. In June, the DOL proposed a rule that determined employer-sponsored plans have a sole fiduciary duty to beneficiaries, not to social causes advanced through ESG investing. The proposal proved to be [...]

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30 10, 2020

DOL walks back ESG language in final rule

2020-10-30T14:09:10-07:00October 30th, 2020|Categories: ESG|Tags: , |

The Department of Labor unveiled a final rule Friday stipulating that ERISA plan fiduciaries cannot invest in “non-pecuniary” vehicles that sacrifice investment returns or take on additional risk, though the final rule focused less on ESG than the proposal on which it was based. The rule was proposed in June and drew harsh criticism from the retirement community, including claims that the Labor Department did not sufficiently justify its reasoning behind the proposal and concerns that the proposal would [...]

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28 10, 2020

Why millennials will win Trump’s war on socially responsible investing

2020-10-28T09:42:08-07:00October 28th, 2020|Categories: Socially Responsible Investment|Tags: , |

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) spent the summer declaring war on socially responsible investing. Under current Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, DOL took two huge steps to crush so-called “ESG” — environmental, social, and governance investing. The first, smaller, mostly procedural step took place in June with a move that would sharply increase the paperwork and regulatory burdens on ESG investors. The second, more brazen step took place just before Labor Day, when DOL proposed a rule change designed [...]

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11 08, 2020

Industry sounds off against DOL proposal on ESG

2020-08-11T09:39:33-07:00August 11th, 2020|Categories: ESG|Tags: , |

A Department of Labor proposal that would likely curb environmental, social and governance investments in ERISA plans has drawn sharp criticism from the retirement community. In a 30-day comment period that concluded July 30, stakeholders roundly admonished the Labor Department's proposal to add regulatory text that makes clear that ERISA requires plan fiduciaries in both private defined benefit and defined contribution plans to select investments "based on financial considerations relevant to the risk-adjusted economic value of a particular investment [...]

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26 06, 2020

DOL proposal could hurt prospects for ESG in ERISA plans

2020-06-26T14:53:25-07:00June 26th, 2020|Categories: ERISA, ESG|Tags: , , |

A proposal from the Department of Labor stipulates that ERISA plan fiduciaries cannot invest in ESG vehicles that sacrifice investment returns or take on additional risk, which sources say could curb environmental, social and governance investments. "Private employer-sponsored retirement plans are not vehicles for furthering social goals or policy objectives that are not in the financial interest of the plan," Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia said in a news release. "Rather, ERISA plans should be managed with unwavering focus on [...]

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