Rachel Mann

Both the US House of Representatives and the Senate passed a resolution to overturn the US Department of Labor’s so-called “ESG Rule” on February 28 and March 1, 2023, respectively. The ESG Rule has been a topic of debate as it sought to clarify the role that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors can play in fiduciary decision-making on behalf of retirement plans regulated by ERISA. The House vote is part of a larger effort to limit ESG investing at both federal and state levels.

The US Department of Labor (DOL) released an extensive regulatory agenda in January 2023 laying out the agency’s priorities for the year. The DOL has...

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has been an area of focus for investors in recent years. ESG investing has also been the target of regulators around the globe. In the United States, the industry awaits a final ESG disclosure rule for funds and advisers from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, while the US Department of Labor recently eased ERISA-regulated retirement plan fiduciaries’ paths to considering certain ESG factors in making investment decisions. At the state level, ESG investing continues to be a hot-button issue as state legislatures debate the relevance and materiality of ESG factors and issue varying regulations and state attorneys general threaten use of their investigative and enforcement authority to advocate for one side or the other of the debate.

Two counties in Vermont will no longer support public inebriate programs due to a lack of funds. Our Rachel Mann looks at the impacts on other community resources.

Renters displaced by July's flooding have a lot of questions. Do they still have to pay rent? Where will they go? Our Rachel Mann got some answers.

The University of Vermont Medical Center is looking to make addiction treatment more accessible with an integrated approach.

The U.S. and China remain at odds when it comes to trading in the technology sector, and the dispute could have direct implications on U.S. semiconductor manufacturers like GlobalFoundries, one of Vermont’s largest employers.

To date genomic studies on Map have concentrated on Type C strains with only a few Type S strains included for comparison. In this study the entire pan-genome of 261 Map genomes (205 Type C, 52 Type S and 4 Type B) and 7 Mycobacterium avium complex (Mac) genomes were analysed to identify genomic similarities and differences between the strains and provide more insight into the evolutionary relationship within this Mycobacterial species.

The backbone of a fiduciary’s duties is the written plan document: understanding the key terms and adhering to them provides a bulwark against fiduciary breach. ERISA Sections 402(a)(1) and 404(a)(1)(d) require that every employee benefit plan be established and maintained pursuant to a written instrument and that the plan be administered according to its written terms (note fiduciaries must follow a written plan document only to the extent it is consistent with ERISA.) Veering from the plan’s terms is generally a per se violation of ERISA. The key to avoiding a costly breach of fiduciary duty is to stick to the plan.

Preliminary data collected during more than a year of lab experiments shows that corals that had the early benefit of multivitamins were more resistant and resilient to heat stress.