A group of 25 Republican attorneys general sued Labor Secretary Marty Walsh and the Labor Department over a Biden administration regulation that gives retirement plan sponsors more freedom to consider environmental, social and governance factors when selecting investments.
The final rule, which went into effect this week, remains in force during the legal challenge, as the financial services industry ramps up an effort to offer ESG-focused retirement plans to more Americans.
The complaint, filed Jan. 26, argues that the department’s rule, released in November, undermines key protections for retirement savings and oversteps the department’s statutory authority under a 1974 law known as the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which governs a broad range of retirement and health benefit plans.
