July 30, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Default Judgment Requiring Defunct Virginia Company to Restore $21,880 to Employee 401(k) and Benefit Plans

MCLEAN, VA – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has approved a default judgment that requires Mahan Consulting Group LLC and its president and owner Shaun Marzett to restore $21,880 to the 401(k), health and welfare benefit plans of the now defunct consulting company in McLean, Virginia.

July 28, 2020

Federal Court Orders Millions Restored to Connecticut Health and Retirement Plans After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation, Litigation

BRIDGEPORT, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has approved a consent judgment and order requiring Bridgeport Health Care Center Inc. (BHCC) – the operating entity of two former Bridgeport nursing homes – and former officer Chaim Stern, to pay a total of $3,366,957 to BHCC’s health and retirement plans to resolve violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

July 22, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Injunction Enjoining Fleet Owners Insurance Fund from Paying Attorney’s Fees in Defense of ERISA Violations

CLEVELAND, OH – The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the Fleet Owners Insurance Fund from paying or advancing attorneys’ fees to any of the defendants in a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) enforcement case.

July 14, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Announces Appointments to Employee Retirement Income Security Act Advisory Council

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the appointment of five members and leadership for the 2020 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The 15-member council provides advice on policies and regulations affecting employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

July 10, 2020

U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury Issue Proposed Rule to Increase Flexibility for Grandfathered Group Health Plans

WASHINGON, DC – The U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury today issued a proposed rule to amend the requirements for grandfathered group health plans and grandfathered group health insurance coverage to preserve their grandfather status.

June 29, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Proposes to Improve Investment Advice And Enhance Financial Choices for Workers and Retirees

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it is proposing a new exemption for investment advice fiduciaries. The Department’s actions today will benefit American workers and retirees by delivering more choices for their financial future with clear standards to be upheld by investment advice providers. The proposed exemption will be published in the Federal Register for notice and comment in the near future. 

June 23, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Proposes New Investment Duties Rule

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor today announced a proposed rule that would update and clarify the Department of Labor’s investment duties regulation. The rule is intended to provide clear regulatory guideposts for plan fiduciaries in light of recent trends involving environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing.

June 19, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Proposed 2020 Self-Compliance Tool To Further Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Compliance

WASHINGON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released a proposed Self-Compliance Tool intended to help improve compliance with the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and additional related requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA).

June 17, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Publishes Request for Information On Pooled Employer Plans and Other Multiple Employer Plans

WASHINGTON, DCThe U.S. Department of Labor has announced a Request for Information (RFI) on Prohibited Transactions involving Pooled Employer Plans (PEPs) under the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act and other multiple employer plans.

June 16, 2020

Federal Court Orders Defunct Online Casino and Sweepstakes Company To Pay Former Employees $99,807 to Restore Health Plan Losses

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada has approved a default judgment against the now-defunct company Kizzang LLC and its president Robert Alexander, that requires them to pay $99,807 to former employees and their beneficiaries for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) related to their employee health and welfare plan. 

June 3, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Issues Information Letter On Private Equity Investments

WASHINGTON, DC The U.S. Department of Labor today issued an Information Letter under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) concerning private equity investments as a component of a professionally managed asset allocation fund offered as an investment option for participants in defined contribution plans. 

May 26, 2020

Indiana Business Owner Sentenced After U.S. Labor Department Investigation Finds Deception in Administration of Employees’ Benefit Plan

BRAZIL, IN – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Clay County, Indiana, Circuit Court Judge Robert Pell has sentenced Larry Morse – the owner of Western Indiana Logistics Inc. in Brazil, Indiana – to a suspended term of 180 days incarceration and 180 days probation.

Morse pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of deception.

May 26, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Consent Order and Judgment to Restore Assets to Participants in Iowa Trucking Company’s Retirement Plan

DES MOINES, IA – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa has issued a consent order and judgment requiring the fiduciaries of the Shinn 401(k) Retirement Plan to restore $35,032 to the Eddyville, Iowa-based Ben Shinn Trucking Inc.’s employee benefit plan.

May 22, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor, Multi-Employer Benefit Plan Reach Settlement; Plan to Pay $431,818 in Unpaid Benefits to Former Grocery Store Employees

SPARKS, MD – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement with the board of trustees of the Food Employers Labor Relations Association (FELRA) and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association (VEBA) Fund, a multi-employer welfare benefit fund. The agreement requires the trustees of the Sparks, Maryland-based fund to pay $431,818 in previously denied severance benefits to 32 former employees of SuperFresh grocery stores. 

May 21, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Announces Rule to Better Deliver Retirement Plan Information Options, While Saving Billions of Dollars for Plans

WASHINGTON, DC –The U.S. Department of Labor today announced publication of a final rule that expands the ability of private sector employers to communicate retirement plan information online or by email. The rule allows employers to deliver disclosures to plan participants primarily electronically, which will reduce printing, mailing, and related plan costs by an estimated $3.2 billion over the next decade.

May 6, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Sues Advance Benefits Management Systems and Fiduciaries Alleging Misuse Led To More Than $7,000,000 in Unpaid Claims

ATLANTA, GA – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit against Advance Benefits Management Systems USA Inc. (ABMS), its founder and CEO C. Kenneth Johnson, and company President Randy Wright. In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, the department asks the court to appoint an independent fiduciary to employee healthcare plans previously administered by ABMS, direct the independent fiduciary to marshal the plans’ assets, obtain insurance reimbursement and pay over $7,000,000 in unpaid claims.

May 1, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Issues New COBRA Notices for Employee Benefit Plans

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today issued Frequently Asked Questions under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) and revised COBRA model notices.

April 30, 2020

Secretary of Labor Reaches Agreement Requiring Wilmington Trust To Restore $80 Million to 21 Employee Stock Ownership Plans And Reimburse Plan Sponsors for Legal Cost and Expenses

WASHINGTON, DC The Secretary of Labor has reached an agreement with Wilmington Trust, N.A. – a Delaware-based bank and trust company – requiring Wilmington Trust to pay a combined $80 million to 21 employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) for which it served as trustee and $8 million to the government, and to reimburse plan sponsors of ESOPs for legal costs and expenses advanced in connection with the Secretary’s investigations and litigation. 

April 28, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Issues COVID-19 Relief and Guidance for Employee Benefit Plans

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today issued deadline relief and other guidance under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to help employee benefit plans, plan participants and beneficiaries, employers and other plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries, and other service providers impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

April 27, 2020

U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Consent Order and Judgment To Remove Fiduciaries from Cleveland, Ohio, Retirement Plan

CLEVELAND, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment to remove plan fiduciaries – Attila E. Nagy and Cynthia Nagy – from the Assembly Specialty Products Inc. 401(k) Plan after an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found that the fiduciaries violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).