"During the past five years, the DOL has filed friend-of-the-court briefs in every federal appeals court case asking whether a 401(k) plan service provider can be liable as a fiduciary under [ERISA]. The DOL this week declined to do the same in a case against Transamerica Life Insurance Co. that's pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. While this move could signal a shift in DOL enforcement priorities in the Trump administration, it also could be read as a natural byproduct of a federal agency lacking top leadership following a presidential transition[.]"

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