DOL Eases Overly Prescriptive Stance in Final Proxy Voting Rule It’s unclear how the rule will be interpreted and enforced after the federal administration changes hands, experts say. The US Department of Labor (DOL) on Friday relaxed its stance on proxy voting and shareholder rights in a final rule, but maintained that private plan fiduciaries should refrain from voting on matters that are not financially material to the plan. In August, the DOL proposed a rule mandating that plan fiduciaries only participate in proxies that have an economic impact on the plan, after taking costs of exercising shareholder rights into account.