WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced an upcoming webcast. “The Affordable Care Act: How Will It Affect Me?” will take place Thursday, Aug. 29 from 1-2 p.m. EDT. EBSA staff will be joined on the webcast by colleagues from the Department of Health and Human Services.

NEW YORK — The trustees of the pension plan, annuity fund and vacation fund of Exhibition Employees Local 829 of the International Association of Theatrical Stage Employees in New York repaid a total of $2,256,817, with an additional $50,000 scheduled to be paid, to the funds following a consent judgment, which came after a U.S. Department of Labor investigation revealed numerous violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Date of Action: Aug. 16, 2013

Name(s) of Defendant(s): 800 West Salon Inc. retirement savings plan

WASHINGTON —— An open meeting of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will take place Aug. 27-29. During the open meeting Advisory Council members will hear testimony from invited witnesses and receive an update on Employee Benefits Security Administration activities. The EBSA update is scheduled for the morning of Aug. 28, subject to change.

Date of Action: Aug. 5, 2013

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants: DTK Computer Inc., DTK Computer Inc. 401(k) Plan

Date of Action: Aug. 5, 2013

Type of Action: Consent Judgment and Order

Name of Defendant: Celebration Events, Inc.

Allegations: The Celebrations Events, Inc. 401(k) plan was established in January 2006 to provide retirement benefits for employees of Celebration Events, Inc. of Woburn, Mass. The company ceased operations in or around 2010.

Date of Action: Aug. 5, 2013

Type of Action: Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant: Van Buren Automotive Products 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

BATON ROUGE, La. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Gulf States Staffing and Personnel LLC of Baton Rouge, and owner Gregory Walker, for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, alleges  that between December 2008 and March 2009, Walker and the company failed to remit employee contributions to the GSSP Short-Term Disability Plan, GSSP Long-Term Disability Plan and GSSP Dental and Vision Plan.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration continues to solicit nominations to fill five three-year vacancies on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The deadline to submit nominations has been extended to Sept. 6.

Date of Action: April 5, 2013

Type of Action: Consent judgment and order

Name(s) of Defendant: Rick Lane Tasker, Martel Jed Cooper, Michael Gregory Smith, individually and as fiduciaries and service providers; and Zenith Capital LLC, an investment advisory firm located in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Date of Action: Aug. 5, 2013

Name of Defendant: Custom Patio Rooms Inc.

Date of Action: Aug. 2, 2013

Name(s) of Defendant(s): GEI International Inc.

Date of Action: Aug. 1, 2013

Type of Action: Complaint

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced upcoming webcasts to increase awareness and understanding of basic responsibilities associated with operating private sector retirement plans.

“Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities” webcasts will take place on Wednesday, August 7 and Thursday, August 8 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. EDT. The webcasts are part of the agency’s national fiduciary education campaign and will feature speakers from the department.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky on July 26 granted in part the U.S. Department of Labor's motion for a preliminary injunction against George S. Hofmeister and Bernard Tew, former fiduciaries of four Lexington-based pension plans: the Hillsdale Salaried, Hillsdale Hourly, Revstone Casting Fairfield GMP Local 359, and Fourslides Inc.

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering a Plymouth Meeting insurance brokerage firm and its chief executive officer to return $272,722 to plan participants and beneficiaries. The department alleges that Dietrich & Associates Inc., and CEO and sole shareholder Kurt E. Dietrich, obtained the money inappropriately when they provided services to an Employee Retirement Income Security Act-covered retirement plan sponsored by Memorial Hospital-West Volusia Inc. in Deland, Fla.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has renewed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on sharing information on retirement and investment matters. The memorandum was signed by Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and SEC Chair Mary Jo White.

Type of Action: Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendants: George Hall and the Stainless Steel Fabricating, Inc. Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension Plan in Columbus, Wis. 

Date of Action: April 7, 2013

Type of Action: Stipulation and Order

Name(s) of Defendant: OPT, Inc.; Joyce Olszewski, the executor of the estate of Anthony Olszweski; Joycelyn Tran; Jonathan Jones; and the OPT, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan. 

CHICAGO – Under terms of a consent order and judgment, $150,226 must be restored to the Profit Sharing Plan of the now defunct Cougar Package Designers Inc., the U.S. Department of Labor announced today. The judgment follows an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration that found plan assets were improperly transferred and commingled with the Lemont-based company’s operating funds between Jan. 1, 2009 and Sept. 30, 2010, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.