March 14, 2006

Labor Department Sues Officers of Hudson, Ohio, Business To Recover 401(k) Plan Losses

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Cleveland, Ohio - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Harold Hopkins and Linda Hopkins, officers of Vista Financial Group Inc., Hudson, Ohio, in federal district court in Cleveland to recover 401(k) plan losses that resulted from fiduciary breaches by the Hopkins. Circle Trust Company also is named in the lawsuit because it is custodian of the plan’s assets.

March 13, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Recovers Over $778,000 in Back Wages For Nearly 1,900 Employees of Jacksonville Financial Services Company

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Labor Department announced today that Fidelity National Financial agreed to pay a total of $778,392 in back wages to 1,895 workers after a Wage and Hour Division investigation found they had not been paid in accordance with provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

March 13, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sponsors Nashville Seminar on Compliance With Federal Employee Benefits Law

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Nashville, Tennessee - A seminar to assist employers, pension plan administrators and other benefits professionals comply with federal employee benefits law will be held April 26 in Nashville at the Doubletree Guest Suites Airport, 2424 Atrium Way. The event is sponsored by the Atlanta office of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

March 13, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, Company Over 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan Violations

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The U.S. Labor Department has sued Austin James Associates Inc. (AJA), Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, and its president, Curtis M. Herman, for failing to forward or timely remit employees’ contributions to the company’s 401(k) savings plan.

March 10, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Settlement Barring Hudson, Ohio, Business Owners From Overseeing Employees’ Benefit Funds

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Cleveland, Ohio - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a settlement permanently barring Harold Hopkins and Linda Hopkins, Hudson, Ohio, former trustees of the Vista Financial Group Inc. 401(k) Plan, from serving as fiduciaries to employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

March 8, 2006

Fine Upheld in Tragic Maine Forestry Workers Accident

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labors Administrative Review Board has upheld fines against the farm labor contractor who employed 14 migrant forestry workers killed Sept. 12, 2002, in a tragic accident in northern Maine.

The unsuccessful appeal, filed by Evergreen Forestry Services of Sandpoint, Idaho, and Peter Smith III, the companys president and owner, contested a $17,000 civil money penalty. The fine was assessed following a Wage and Hour Division investigation conducted under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

March 8, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Settlement Restoring Funds to Virginia Company’s 401(k) Plan

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

Alexandria, Virginia - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment requiring Therapy Management Services Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia, and its president, Brenda Hunt, to restore $32,899 to the company’s 401(k) plan.

March 7, 2006

Labor Department Sues Irvine Firm to Protect Employees’ 401(k) Funds

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

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued three former senior executives of Irvine-based Esynch Corporation for failing to collect delinquent employer contributions and failing to forward employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan. The business currently operates under the name of Mergence Corporation, also headquartered in Irvine.

March 7, 2006

Judge Orders Imprisonment of Philadelphia Businessman For Failure to Produce Documents

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

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - A federal district court in Philadelphia has granted a motion by the U.S. Department of Labor to incarcerate John J. Koresko of Bridgeport, Pennsylvania, for failing to produce documents requested by administrative subpoenas.

March 6, 2006

U.S. Labor Secretary Addresses Challenges to Combating Human Trafficking at Conference on Trafficking in Persons in North America

WASHINGTON — Deputy Labor Secretary Steven J. Law pointed out at a Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing today the enormous challenges that China faces as the worlds most populous country in combating human trafficking. Law was appointed to the Commission by President George W. Bush in 2004.

Given the enormous size of Chinas population, there is an urgent need to deal with human trafficking issues now, Law said. As migration within and outside the country expands, the problem of human trafficking has the potential to escalate immensely.

March 6, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues Rhode Island Employer to Restore Funds to 401(k) Plan

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

Boston, Massachusetts - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the president of now-defunct e-tel Corp., West Warwick, Rhode Island, seeking restoration of funds to the company’s 401(k) plan.

March 6, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for Manchester, Missouri, Company’s 401(k) Plan

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

St. Louis, Missouri - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer the abandoned 401(k) plan originally sponsored by Dave Godat Auto Body Inc. of Manchester, Missouri.

March 2, 2006

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Encourages Companies, Non-profits, Others to Apply for 2006 New Freedom Initiative Awards

Awards Recognize Exemplary Efforts to Employ Workers With Disabilities

March 2, 2006

Labor Department Restores Nearly $170,000 to Reno Software Firm’s 401(k) Plan

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

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has reached agreement with a now-defunct Reno company and its bonding firm to restore $167,530 owed to the bankrupt firm’s 401(k) plan. The action resolves all complaints by the Labor Department against Lodging & Gaming Systems Inc. (LGS), which develops software for casinos and hotels.

March 1, 2006

U.S. Labor Secretary Challenges 2006 SAVER Summit Delegates to Develop Strategies for Enhancing Retirement Security

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao addressed a crowd of delegates representing the retirement savings and financial communities today to kick off the 2006 National Summit on Retirement Savings.

February 28, 2006

Labor Department Restores Nearly $70,000 to Chatsworth Machining Firm’s 401(k) and Health Plans

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

San Francisco, California - A U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ordered two former owners of Chatsworth, California-based, Simon Brothers Precision Machining to restore nearly $70,000 in delinquent employee contributions and loan repayments to the company’s 401(k) and health plans. The action resolves a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Labor Department last June to restore assets for 50 former employees of the company.

February 27, 2006

Department of Labor and U.S. Postal Service
Reach $6.5 Million Back Wage Agreement

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has announced an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that will result in payment of more than $6.5 million in back wages to almost 900 pilots, co-pilots and flight engineers. The employees worked on several USPS contracts and subcontracts to transport mail by air between January 1996 and August 2001. Wages paid were subject to requirements of the Service Contract Act (SCA).

February 27, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Extends Filing Deadline for Annual Report Filers in Gulf Coast Region

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

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is again extending the deadline for filing the Form 5500 series annual returns/reports to Aug. 28, 2006. This additional reporting relief is being granted to filers in 31 parishes in Louisiana, 46 counties in Mississippi and 11 counties in Alabama.

February 21, 2006

U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Agenda for 2006 Saver Summit

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

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the agenda of the 2006 National Summit on Retirement Savings that will be held March 1-2, at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel in Washington, DC. The Summit will focus on “Saving for Your Golden Years: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities.”

February 17, 2006

Assistant Secretary of Labor Address to Oklahoma Public Policy Forum Focuses on President Bush’s Health Care Agenda

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

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs spoke to members of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, today to highlight the Bush Administration’s priorities to make healthcare more affordable for American workers, retirees and their families.