SHRM has a great article in this month’s issue of the HR Magazine: “Fiduciary Fitness.” (Unfortunately, only members can access the article.) The article would be very helpful to those HR professionals and executives seeking to attain a good overview of the complex area of ERISA fiduciary compliance. The article reports:
Interest in fiduciary education is running strong because fiduciaries increasingly want to be sure they’re complying with ERISA’s complex requirements, particularly in the tense environment created by the dozens of lawsuits against companies-Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., to name a few-alleging breaches of fiduciary responsibility.
The article emphasizes a point made here quite often at ERISAblog:
As many human resource managers know, ERISA compliance is a complex, time-consuming process that requires close, continuous attention, the expertise of a team of specialists and, above all, prudent behavior. Although the meaning of prudence varies with the situation, experts generally maintain that a fiduciary who creates, follows and documents processes and procedures to make informed decisions is doing the right thing.