Labor department ESG rule sent back to lower court for rehearing


The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled July 18 that the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas must rehear the Republican attorneys general lawsuit opposing the Department of Labor’s 2022 rule allowing the use of ESG in ERISA-governed pension plans. The Fifth Circuit said the lower court needed to consider the Supreme Court’s ruling in Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which overturned Chevron doctrine—the basis of the original lower court ruling.

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