Financial institutions and advisers that manage retirement plan assets and are subject to the regulations of the Department of Labor (“DOL”) under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, (“ERISA”) regarding fiduciary duties (the “Fiduciary Rule”) may also be subject to state law violations for failure to comply with the Fiduciary Rule. The Enforcement Section of the Massachusetts Division of the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth (the “Massachusetts Enforcement Section”) filed an administrative complaint (the “Complaint”) on February 15, 2018 against Scottrade, Inc. (“Scottrade”) claiming violations of a Massachusetts statute due to alleged violations of the Fiduciary Rule. Given the relief requested in the Complaint and the potential precedent for other states, this action has the potential to be significant, not only for Scottrade, but for other advisers and financial institutions.
A year ago, employers across the country prepared for the implementation of a new overtime rule that would dramatically increase the salary threshold for white-collar exemptions, on the understanding that the new rule would soon go into effect “unless something dramatic happens,” a phrase we and others used repeatedly.
Since last November, much of the