Constitutional Opinion No. 2026-0743
Case Information
- Source
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (dol.gov)
- Author
- U.S. Department of Labor / EBSA
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-10
- Content Type
- Government Press Release
- Opinion Issued
- 2026-07-19
- AFCS Version
- 1.0
Holding
Unlike the enforcement actions that precede it, this is a legal-position action — an amicus brief — and it engages the Standard through a different set of commitments, landing in the same middle band by a different route. The Department urges the Supreme Court to uphold the dismissal of a suit alleging that Intel imprudently invested 401(k) assets, arguing that plaintiffs must show underperformance against a meaningful benchmark investment with similar goals and strategies, and that ERISA is a law of process, not results — simply alleging an investment is underperforming alone does not necessarily suggest imprudence. Read against the canon, the position is aligned on three counts. It defends enterprise and the discretion of those who manage plans from results-based, second-guessing litigation, and curbs excessive suits against employers plans — a pro-enterprise posture (IX). It insists on a proper legal standard — process over outcome, a genuine benchmark rather than hindsight — the rule of law applied with rigor rather than by result (XVIII). And it frames the underlying diversification as protecting the worker's retirement, safer during market downturns, serving the citizen's retirement property, if indirectly (II). The Standard does not overstate the case — the worker-protection here is a framing around a brief whose direct effect is to shield fiduciary discretion — but on enterprise, proper process, and retirement security together, the action is moderately aligned. It lands at 70 like the enforcement cluster, but arrives by a different path: the enforcement actions protected the worker directly and scored on safety and restitution; this protects enterprise and proper legal process and scores on those. Tier 1 nets to 66; the result is 70 — Mostly America First.
It is the judgment of this Court that Opinion No. 2026-0743 is hereby entered into the record, in accordance with the America First Constitutional Standard. The score stands. The reasoning is published. The record is public.