NEW YORK, NY – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has ordered the trustees of four benefit plans for United Derrickmen & Riggers Association, Local Union 197, in Long Island City, New York, to restore $475,000 to the plans, pay a $95,000 penalty to the U.S. Department of Labor and take other corrective actions to resolve violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

LOUISVILLE, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky entered a consent order and judgment against the Kentucky Bankers Association (KBA), Participating Employer Committee (PEC), Association Healthcare Consortium Inc., and the current and former trustees of the Kentucky Bankers Association Health and Welfare Benefit Program and the KBA Benefits Trust holding them jointly and severally liable to pay $1,561,818 in losses to the Trust.

CLEVELAND, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment requiring the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Union and the current trustees of the SMART Group Voluntary Short Term Disability Plan (SMART VSTD Plan) to restore $6,545,454 to the Plan.

LEXINGTON, KY – After an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky has sentenced Aaron Jamison – founder, owner and president of Micah Group LLC and Micah Group Environmental Contractors Inc.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today made available a proposed rule that would address the application of the prudence and exclusive purpose duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) with respect to proxy voting and exercises of other shareholder rights. The proposed rule amends the Department’s longstanding “Investment duties” regulation at 29 CFR 2550.404a-1.

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has approved a consent order and judgment requiring fiduciaries Executive Printing of Darien LLC, Chapin Packaging LLC and John Trask Pfeifle to restore $17,352.83 to the Darien, Connecticut, companies’ 401(k) retirement benefits plan.

LOS ANGELES, CA – The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has sentenced Mahyar David Yadidi – a San Pedro, California, chiropractor – to prison and ordered him to make restitution for defrauding the International Longshore and Warehouse Union-Pacific Maritime Association (ILWU-PMA) Welfare Plan. The court’s action follows an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and Office of Inspector General (OIG).

COLUMBUS, OH – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment requiring Robert Walton, Jr. – CEO of Hadsell Chemical Processing – to restore $65,842 to the Hadsell Chemical Processing Simple IRA Plan after the Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) found that Walton, as plan fiduciary, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a notice of proposed rulemaking on pooled plan provider registration requirements. The proposal seeks to implement the registration requirements for “pooled plan providers” pursuant to the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019.

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced an interim final rule that will help workers determine their ability to retire by allowing them to estimate how their current savings in a 401(k)-type plan might translate into lifetime monthly payments.

The rule implements section 203 of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – The U.S. District Court of Nevada has ordered Sin City Investment Group Inc. – operating as American Leak Detection of Southern Nevada – and its president Leland Keith Ozawa to pay $51,434 for missing employee contributions and associated lost interest owed to non-fiduciary participants of the American Leak Detection SIMPLE IRA Plan.

NEW YORK, NY – The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has sentenced John Ulrich – former vice president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 812 and former trustee of the Local 812 Health Fund – to 18 months in jail for soliciting bribe payments in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

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.

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).

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.

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).

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.

WASHINGTON, DC – The 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. 

WASHINGTON, DC – The 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.

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).