The Department of Labor ("DOL") recently
issued another set of proposed regulations seeking to
address the perceived "artificial impediments" imposed by
its two sets of final regulations finalized in late 2020. The
proposed regulations, entitled "Prudence and Loyalty in
Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights"
(the "Proposed Regulations"), would negate the recently
finalized regulations known as Financial Factors in Selecting Plan
Investments, which addresses environmental, social, and governance
investing (the "ESG rules") and the Fiduciary Duties
Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights (the "Proxy
Voting rules").
In March, the DOL
announced a nonenforcement policy regarding the ESG rules
and the Proxy Voting rules. The Proposed Regulations are the result
of the DOL's conclusion that the ESG rules and Proxy Voting
rules "may have inadvertently caused more confusion than
clarity" and may actually "lead to less retirement
security,
