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SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Labor today
announced that a consent order was entered Sept. 7, 1999, in U.S. District
Court for the District of Oregon which resolves the department’s suit
against Grigsby Brothers Paper Box Manufacturers, Portland, its president
Walter Grigsby and vice president Terrence Grigsby for alleged violations of
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the federal pension law,
relating to their administration of the Grigsby Brothers Paper Box
Manufacturers 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan.
According to Bette Briggs, regional director for
the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) in San Francisco, the
defendants will pay the Plan $18,951 for employee and employer contributions
that were not forwarded, and lost interest earnings calculated through August
3, 1999.
The Labor Department alleged that the company and
plan trustees Walter and Terrence Grigsby breached their fiduciary
responsibilities imposed upon them under ERISA by engaging in a pattern of
withholding employee contributions from participants’ paychecks and then
failing to forward these contributions to the Plan within the time period
required by Department of Labor regulations. Similarly, the department alleged
that the defendants failed to collect for the Plan the required matching
pension plan contributions.
In addition to the restoration of any losses
suffered by the Plan, under the terms of today’s consent order, the
defendants agreed to step down as fiduciaries of the Plan and to appoint an
independent fiduciary with full discretionary authority to administer the Plan.
Further, the defendants are enjoined from serving as fiduciaries or service
providers to any employee benefit plan covered by ERISA for a period of ten
years.
Following the appointment of the independent
fiduciary, the defendants will provide all books and records of the Plan to the
independent fiduciary.
The original court filing and today’s
subsequent settlement and consent order resulted from an investigation
conducted by the Seattle PWBA District Office following a participant
complaint. Briggs emphasized the importance of participants’
responsibility in monitoring their pension plan and encourages participants to
contact the Seattle PWBA District Office at 206-553-4244 for information or to
report possible violations.
Note to editors: Civil Action File Number
71-008069 (48) |
