This is the first of two columns discussing U.S. Supreme Court decisions from the 2014-2015 term in the area of labor and employment law of significance for employers. This month we review rulings pertaining to an employer’s fiduciary duty to monitor plan investments, judicial review of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s efforts at conciliation prior to litigation, compensation for time spent waiting to undergo security screenings, and whether an administrative agency’s changes to its interpretive rules are subject to notice-and-comment rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act.
Fiduciary Duty
In Tibble v. Edison International, 135 SCt 1823 (2015), the Supreme Court unanimously held on May 18, 2015, that the six-year statute of limitations for fiduciary duty claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) does not bar a claim brought more than six years after a plan investment was selected, if the claim alleges the fiduciary failed to prudently monitor the investment within the limitations period. Although the court explicitly declined to define the parameters of the duty to monitor plan investments, this ruling will make it easier for plan participants to challenge plan fiduciaries’ retention of investment options within 401(k) plans.
