August 23, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Settlement with President of Utica, Michigan Corporation to Restore Workers’ 401(k) Assets

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

August 23, 2005

Labor Department Sues To Recover Assets Of Northwest Indiana Carpenters’ Pension Fund

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Chicago, Illinois - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the trustees of the Northwest Indiana District and Regional Councils of the Carpenters’ Pension Trust Fund and the owners of Sand Creek Sales and Development Inc. to recover plan losses on a $10 million land investment in the Coffee Creek real estate development in Chesterton, Ind. Assets of the pension plan were used to purchase the real estate from Sand Creek Sales and Development.

August 22, 2005

Labor Department Finalizes Qualified Professional Asset Manager Exemption

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today adopted final amendments to update financial standards and streamline record-keeping requirements of a widely used class exemption available with respect to plans whose assets are managed by qualified professional asset managers (QPAMs).

August 22, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Seeks Independent Fiduciary To Manage Abandoned Fairfield, New Jersey 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Fairfield, New Jersey - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued to obtain appointment of an independent fiduciary to terminate the 401(k) plan of defunct JAWZ USA Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey and distribute its assets to the participants. The company ceased operations in 2001.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

August 18, 2005

Labor Department Sues Pension Plan Trustees on Behalf Of Ohio Sheet Metal Workers

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Cleveland, Ohio - The U.S. Department of Labor today sued the trustees of the Cleveland-based Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 pension plan for imprudently investing plan assets in risky private investments with Capital Consultants LLC (CCL) of Portland, Oregon. The department’s suit seeks to restore all losses on the investments.

August 18, 2005

New Jersey Executive Indicted for Embezzling $500,000 From Pension Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A New Jersey grand jury indicted the owner of Knight Contracting Company, Clarksburg, New Jersey, on one count of theft for failing to forward approximately $500,000 in employee contributions to the company’s pension plan.

August 16, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues to Recover $165,000 for Roanoke, Alabama 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued bankrupt Terry Manufacturing Company Inc. of Roanoke, Alabama, and two company officers and trustees of its 401(k) plan, for failing to remit and timely forward approximately $165,000 in employee contributions and interest to the plan.

August 12, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Court Order Appointing Independent Fiduciary For Abandoned Liberty, Missouri 401(k) Plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Kansas City, Missouri - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plans of Guy’s Acquisition Company. The suit also asks to distribute almost $20,000 to 48 eligible participants and to terminate the plans.

August 12, 2005

Former Executive of Los Angeles Child Development Center Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Government Investigation

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Los Angeles, California - Margo Wainwright Harris pled guilty to misrepresenting to the Labor Department that more than $80,000 owed to the money purchase retirement plan of the Frederick Douglass Child Development Center Inc. in Los Angeles had been repaid. Her plea came after the first week of a criminal trial in federal district court following an indictment that was issued in March 2005.

August 11, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Order Barring Former Plan Trustee From Fiduciary Service

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

August 11, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Consent Judgment Restoring $17,928 To Gladstone, Michigan Profit Sharing Programs

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Detroit, Michigan - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment restoring $17,928.30 to two Gladstone, Michigan-based Lakeside Machine, Inc. profit sharing & salary deferral plans – one for salaried employees and the other a collectively bargained employee plan.

August 9, 2005

U.S. Department of Labor Sues to Restore More Than $800,000 to New Jersey 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York, New York - The U.S. Labor Department sued the fiduciaries of the 401(k) plan of the bankrupt Standard Automotive Corporation, headquartered in Hillsborough Township, New Jersey, for alleged misuse of more than $800,000 in plan assets to pay improper legal expenses.

August 9, 2005

Former New Jersey Executive Restores $105,707 to 401(k) Plan After Pleading Guilty to Theft

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Somerset, New Jersey - Richard J. Valenti, owner of Valairco Inc., Green Brook, New Jersey, pled guilty to the theft of $105,707 of employee benefit plan assets from the company’s 401(k) plan. Valenti has already made restitution to the plan.

August 4, 2005

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for Abandoned Englewood, Colorado, Profit Sharing Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Denver, Colorado - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued to appoint a successor fiduciary to manage the 401(k) profit sharing plan of defunct Sirius Inc., Englewood, Colorado.  The company’s 401(k) plan has been without oversight since the company ceased doing business in 2002.

August 1, 2005

Labor Department Solicits Nominations for 2006 ERISA Advisory Council

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor is soliciting nominations to fill five three-year vacancies on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The deadline for receipt of nominations is October 1, 2005.

August 1, 2005

Charleston Profit Sharing Plan Trustee Sued to Restore Plan Losses

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Charleston, West Virginia - The U.S. Labor Department has filed a lawsuit against Richard Lewis, trustee of the profit sharing plan of Benefit Services Inc., Charleston, West Virginia, to restore losses resulting from violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

The suit also seeks to permanently bar Lewis from serving as a fiduciary to any ERISA-covered plan in the future.

July 27, 2005

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for Abandoned Gainesville, Florida, Profit Sharing Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued to appoint a successor fiduciary to manage a defunct Gainesville, Georgia, company’s employee profit sharing plan. Primecare of North Florida’s plan has been without oversight since the company ceased doing business in 2002.

July 26, 2005

Top Disability Employment Official Participates in 15th Anniversary Celebration of the Americans with Disabilities Act

WASHINGTON—Assistant Secretary Roy Grizzard, head of the Labor Department's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), participated today in a celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The event, held at the Marriot Metro Center from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., featured workshops focusing on various disability-related issues.

July 26, 2005

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Praises Senate Finance Chairman Grassley On Pension Reform Bill Markup

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of Labor and Chairman of the Board of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. Elaine L. Chao today praised Chairman Charles Grassley for his leadership of the Senate Finance Committee in acting quickly to pass bipartisan legislation to reform the nation's pension systems. The Committee unanimously approved the bill.

July 26, 2005

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Applauds House Passage of Bush Administration's Plan To Reduce Number of Uninsured Americans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao made the following statement following the passage of H.R. 525, the Small Business Health Fairness Act, by the U.S. House of Representatives: