Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will host a free web cast June 25 to help employers and plan administrators understand recent regulatory and interpretative guidance under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to appoint an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Chelsea Voice & Data Inc. of New York City.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Roseville, Minnesota – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the president and sole owner of Plywood Industries Inc. in Roseville, for failing to forward to the company’s health plan contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Buffalo, New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Pohlman Foundry Co. Inc. of Buffalo.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Boston – Trustees of defunct VikinGlobal Corp. of Warren, Rhode Island, have agreed to administer the company’s abandoned 401(k) plan to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement with Costello Forensic Accounting P.C. and its auditors resolving the department lawsuit alleging the Chattanooga, Tennessee accounting firm violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a settlement agreement requiring defunct BDH Clinical Research Services Inc., Rougemont, North Carolina, and its former president to restore $22,921 to the retirement accounts of four former employees.

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Indianapolis – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Technengineering Services Inc., Fishers, Indiana, for failure to properly administer the company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today kicked off its "Transforming the American Workplace: A 21st Century Vision" summit, which focuses on including people with disabilities in the American workforce and reduced barriers to employment. The invitation-only summit continues through tomorrow at Gallaudet University's Kellogg Conference Center in Washington, D.C.

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

San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will sponsor “Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities,” a free compliance assistance seminar, on July 1 at the Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel.

Workers to benefit from increased transparency

WASHINGTON — On May 5, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia dismissed a challenge to the U.S. Department of Labor's authority to require reports from attorneys who make payments to unions or union officials. The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) requires employers to file reports if, among other things, they provide money or other things of value to a union or a union officer or employee.

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

Springfield, Missouri – A free workshop will be sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) to help employers understand their fiduciary responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The workshop will take place on May 22 from 8 a.m. to noon CDT at St. John’s Hospital, Hammons Heart Institute Auditorium, 1325 E. Cherokee Street, in Springfield.

Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs Charlotte Ponticelli to lead U.S. delegation

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The U.S. Department of Labor, the Ministry of Labor and Employment in Brazil, and the Organization of American States (OAS) jointly will host a seminar on youth employment in Rio de Janeiro from Tuesday, May 20, through Wednesday, May 21. Charlotte M. Ponticelli, the Labor Department's deputy undersecretary for International Affairs, will lead the U.S. delegation.

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

Columbia, Maryland – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment removing National Management Systems LLC of Columbia and its owner, William Ray Miller II, as fiduciaries to the company’s pension plan, and permanently barring them from serving as fiduciaries to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in the future.

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

The workshop will take place from 8:30 a.m. to noon EDT at the Renaissance Atlanta Downtown Hotel, 590 West Peachtree Street N.W. One-on-one consultations will be available after the workshop, from noon to 1 p.m.

Bulk of cases involve embezzlement of union funds

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for April 2008. During the month, OLMS obtained seven convictions, nine indictments and court orders of restitution totaling $225,615. The office's totals for fiscal year 2008 (which began on Oct. 1, 2007) now stand at 59 convictions and 76 indictments. The bulk of the cases involved the embezzlement of union funds.

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

Grand Rapids, Michigan – The federal district court in Grand Rapids has granted a consent judgment to the U.S. Department of Labor that allows for recovery of approximately $25,000 in 401(k) plan assets and interest owed to the Michigan Air Control Distributing Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan in Grand Rapids.

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

San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold two free workshops June 9 and 19 in Southern California to help employers, benefit professionals and others comply with federal employee benefits law.

The June 9 workshop will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. PDT at the Marriott Courtyard Foothill Ranch Irvine Spectrum, 27492 Portola Parkway in Foothill Ranch.

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

Cleveland – The U.S. Department of Labor today obtained consent orders requiring trustees of the Cleveland-based Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 Pension Plan to restore $625,000 to the plan, pay a $125,000 civil penalty, and institute controls and reforms over future investments made by the plan. The court order resolves a lawsuit involving risky investments authorized by the trustees with Capital Consultants LLC of Portland, Oregon.

Revisions designed to better protect union members right-to-know

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will issue a notice of proposed rulemaking on May 12 to enhance union financial transparency. The proposed rule, issued under the authority of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), protects the rights of labor union members to have meaningful information about union finances and expenditures.