February 23, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues Diamond Bar Mortgage Lender to Protect Employees’ 401(k) Contributions

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit alleging the president of a Diamond Bar, California, mortgage lender withdrew employees’ contributions from the company’s 401(k) plan and failed to return the money to the plan participants.

February 18, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Judgment Restoring $435,876 in Assets To Puerto Rican Union Health and Welfare Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

February 17, 2005

Labor Department Sues Georgia Construction Firm and Owner To Recover Delinquent Employee Contributions

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Department of Labor sued RW Construction Inc., Hoschton, Georgia, and its owner to recover more than $12,132.44 in employee contributions owed to the company’s SIMPLE IRA Plan. The suit charged Ronald B. Woodward and his company with failure to timely remit assets to the plan and allegedly using the money to pay corporate expenses.

February 16, 2005

Former Plan Official Sentenced For Embezzlement From Union Health Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York, New York - The former plan administrator of the Solidarity of Labor Organizations Health Benefit Fund, Bronx, New York, has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison plus three years of supervised release for embezzling from a health fund. William Fagello also was ordered to restore $107,000 to the health plan.

February 16, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Judgment Requiring D.C. Insurance Broker to Restore More Than $950,000 to Clients’ Employee Benefit Plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a judgment ordering Washington, DC-based A & D Insurance, Inc. and its president to restore $955,515 to its employee benefit plan clients. The defendants allegedly deposited money collected to purchase insurance for the 27 plans into the company’s corporate accounts.

February 15, 2005

Labor Department Sues Menasha, Wisconsin Business and President To Restore Delinquent Contributions to IRA Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Chicago, Illinois - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the Hirschy, Inc., doing business as Germania Hall, Menasha, Wisconsin, and Christopher Fiedler, president and sole shareholder of Hirschy, for failing to forward employee contributions to the company’s IRA plan and to segregate the plan contributions from the general operating assets of the company.

February 14, 2005

Wal-Mart Agrees to Pay Fine for Violating Child Labor Laws

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor has fined Wal-Mart $135,540 in civil money penalties for violating the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The department's Wage and Hour Division found that Wal-Mart allowed teenage workers to operate hazardous equipment resulting in one teenager being injured while operating a chain saw.

February 14, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Severe Storms and Flooding Hit California

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

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced an extension of the deadline for filing Form 5500 and Form 5500 EZ annual report/returns due to damages from severe storms, flooding and mudslides in California.

February 10, 2005

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Calls for 2005 New Freedom Initiative Award Nominations

WASHINGTON—Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao today called upon non-profits, small businesses, corporations and individuals that have demonstrated exemplary and innovative efforts in advancing the employment and workplace environment of people with disabilities to submit their entries for the 2005 Secretary of Labor's New Freedom Initiative Award.

February 10, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues Bankrupt Delaware Firm and Executive Over Delinquent Employee Contributions

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

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued bankrupt Foley Jewelers Christiana, Inc. (FJC) of Newark, Delaware, its president, and the administrator of its 401(k) plan for failing to remit and timely forward employee contributions to the 401(k) plan. The department also filed an adversary legal action in bankruptcy court against FJC’s president seeking to have his debt to the plan deemed non-dischargeable.

February 8, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues Bay Area Firm to Protect Employees’ 401(k) Contributions

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

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued two senior executives of Oakland-based Manna Consultants Inc. for failure to transfer employees’ contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan.

February 3, 2005

Labor Department Proposes Rules on Notices Relating to Funding Status of Multiemployer Pension Plans

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

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced proposed rules to implement provisions of the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004, which require plan administrators of multiemployer pension plans to furnish annually a notice on the funding status of the plans.

February 2, 2005

Labor Department Protects Employee Health Premium Payments Against Bankruptcy Claims with Default Judgment

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

Detroit, Michigan - The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Michigan has entered a default judgment against Jeffrey M. Grenke, owner of defunct American Tool & Mold Inc., St. Joseph, Michigan. The judgment removes from bankruptcy proceedings Grenke’s liability for failing to forward employee premium withholdings and employer contributions to the company’s health plan insurance carrier.

February 2, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues Trustees of West Virginia 401(k) Plan Over Delinquent Contributions

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

Charleston, West Virginia - Trustees of the defunct Gordon Gasket & Packing Co. 401(k) plan in Charleston, West Virginia, were sued by the U.S. Department of Labor for failure to forward or timely remit employee contributions to the plan. The department also sued trustee Beverly Louise Bowman to prevent her from discharging $34,108.11 in debts owed to the plan in bankruptcy proceedings.

February 1, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Court Judgment Restoring Assets to Minneapolis 401(k) Plan

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

Minneapolis, Minnesota - The U.S. Department of Labor today obtained a consent judgment requiring Liberty Tool and Engineering Corp., Minneapolis, and its president to restore $14,387.47 to the company’s 401(k).

January 28, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Severe Winter Storms Hit Indiana

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 announced an extension of the deadline for filing Form 5500 and Form 5500 EZ annual report/returns due to damages from severe winter storms and flooding in Indiana.

January 26, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Settlement with California Company of 401(k) Plan Reporting Violations

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

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor reached an agreement with Perris, California-based Modtech Holdings Inc. in which the company will pay a $75,000 civil penalty for failing to file required annual reports for its 401(k) plan for two plan years and for filing a deficient annual report for a subsequent year. This settles the department’s reporting compliance enforcement action against the company for plan years 2000 through 2002.

January 25, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues President of Nashville Leasing Firm Over Misuse of Health Plan Assets

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

Nashville, Tennessee - The U.S. Department of Labor sued the president of Nashville-based Midland Services, Inc. for misusing commissions and refunds owed to a health plan sponsored by the firm. Midland was a staff-leasing firm that operated a multiple employer welfare arrangement for employees leased to client employers.

January 25, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Agreement with Fremont, California Firm Restoring Employees’ 401(k) Assets

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

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor obtained an agreement with the former owners of defunct Russett Diesel, a Fremont-based trucking company, to restore assets to the company’s 401(k) plan.

January 19, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues Westwood, Massachusetts Resident to Restore Funds to Defunct Company’s Pension Plan

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

Boston, Massachusetts - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Joseph P. Zoppo of Westwood, Massachusetts, seeking to compel him to restore misused funds to the pension plan of his now-defunct company, I/O Desktop Specialists Inc.