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News Release
Labor Department Sues Marche’ Associates For Failing to Forward Contributions to Plan
Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
Kansas City, Missouri - The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit on August 16, 2002 against the Marche’ Associates, Inc. Profit Sharing/401(k) Plan and its sole trustee, Stephen J. Lang, for failing to forward to the plan contributions withheld from paychecks of two of the plan’s participants.
According to the lawsuit, between the period of August 15, 1997 to June 30, 1998, Marche’ and Lang withheld $2,265.00 and $3,841.06, respectively, in employee contributions from the paychecks of two employees/plan participants, but only deposited $472.50 and 997.90 to these participants’ accounts. The difference remains unpaid. In addition, these participants were promised employer contributions for plan years 1997 and 1998. These contributions also were not made to the plan.
The department’s lawsuit is asking the court to order Lang to restore to the plan all losses including interest, even if his own account in the plan needs to be offset to recoup monies owed to the other accounts. It also calls for Lang to be permanently barred from serving as a fiduciary to any plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and for an independent fiduciary to be named to administer the plan and its assets. The suit also calls for Marche to pay any cost associated with the independent fiduciary or other plan professionals.
Marche’ Associates is a Lawrence, Kansas corporation engaged in small product design and engineering.
“The department’s case demonstrates its serious efforts to continue to protect the hard-earned benefits promised employees,” said Gregory Egan, Regional Director of the Kansas City office of the Labor Department’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA), which conducted the investigation. The complaint was filed in federal district court in Topeka, Kansas.
Employers and workers can contact the Kansas City office at 1.816.426.5131 or PWBA’s Toll-Free Employee & Employer Hotline number at 1.866.275.7922 for help with any problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.
(Chao v. Stephen J. Lang and Marche’ Associates, Inc.
Civil Action No. 2-CV-4129-RDR)
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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.