WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration has announced that it will publish in tomorrow's Federal Register a notice proposing to extend and align the applicability dates for its retirement plan fee disclosure rules.

TUCKER, Ga. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued fiduciaries of architectural company Milton Pate and Associates seeking to recover $135,516 for participants and beneficiaries of the company’s 401(k) profit-sharing plan.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, alleges that the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by taking prohibited loans from the plan and not forwarding employee contributions to the plan in a timely manner.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct mental health services provider Embrenche LLC and the company’s owners, Marty Hickman, Joe Parker and Avery Hairston, for allegedly violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.  The lawsuit alleges that the defendants diverted employees’ contributions away from the company’s 401(k) profit-sharing plan, and failed to administer and terminate the plan after the company ceased operating.

FLETCHER, N.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued former Fletcher-based Unicomp Inc. and its chief executive officer, Stephen Hafer, to restore losses suffered by participants in the company’s health plan.

STAFFORD, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued oil field equipment and machine parts manufacturer MWDay Group Inc., doing business as Paradigm Machine Works Inc., in Stafford, and its owner and president, Michael W. Day.  The lawsuit alleges that the defendants failed to forward employee contributions and matching employer contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

CLARKS SUMMIT, Pa. — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order to restore $41,093 to the employee benefit plan of now-defunct Dalton Mechanical Services Inc., formerly located in Clarks Summit. The action resolves a lawsuit filed by the department in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against the company and Scott Slocum, its president and co-owner. A default judgment also was entered against the company.

Date of Action:  May 12, 2011

Type of Action:  Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant: Thomas Keating, individually and as a trustee to the Mitchellace Inc. Employee Flexible Benefits Plan located in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Allegations: During the period of Nov. 5, 2008, to June 10, 2009, defendant Keating caused Mitchellace to withhold $14,615.94 from employees’ pay in employee health premium contributions and failed to forward them to the Plan.

FLINT, Mich. – The U.S.

Date of Action:  May 2, 2011

Type of Action:  Complaint

Name(s) of Defendant: Ted Ayoub, individually and as a fiduciary of the Yamasaki Associates Inc. Employees’ 401(k) Savings and Investment Plan and Trust Plan and the Yamasaki Associates Inc. Group Health Plan and Yamasaki Associates Inc.

MADISON, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Jendusa Engineering Associates Inc., an architectural company headquartered in Hartland, Wis., owner James Jendusa and fiduciary Carrie Jendusa to recover $10,441.53 in voluntary employee contributions and interest owed to the company's 401(k) plan. The case resulted from an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Financial services company Wall Street Capitol and its president, Richard Siskey, have agreed to restore $242,975.78 to two retirement profit sharing plans as part of a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor. The Charlotte-based company and its president allegedly violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

SPARTA, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment requiring Quality Tool and Machine Inc. of Sparta and the company's president, Jerry Freimuth, to restore $11,763 in employee contributions and lost opportunity costs to the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account. The judgment, entered in U.S. district court in Madison, resolves a lawsuit filed by the department alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

RACINE, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Brian T. Kiernan, owner of Kiernan Heating and Air Conditioning Inc., a defunct Racine company, for allegedly failing to forward $19,811.98 in employee contributions to the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Alliance Excavating Inc. of Grove City and the defunct company's owner, James Sowers, for allegedly failing to administer and terminate the Alliance Excavating Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WEST CHESTER, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that a federal district court in Cincinnati has issued a default judgment against Christopher Technologies LLC of West Chester and its president, John Fussner, ordering $37,232.40 in employee contributions and lost opportunity costs be repaid to the participants and beneficiaries of the company’s 401(k) profit-sharing plan.

AUSTIN, Texas – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will co-host a free health law compliance assistance seminar with the Texas Department of Insurance on Tuesday, May 17, and Wednesday, May 18, at the University of Texas at Austin’s Thompson Conference Center.

CHICAGO – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued now defunct Family Care Management of Northbrook and trustees Robert Kaplan, Michael Kaplan and Arnold Kaplan for allegedly failing to administer and terminate the company’s 401(k) and profit-sharing plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.  This situation has prevented qualified participants from obtaining distributions of their individual account balances since the company ceased operations in 2007.  At that time, the plan had 15 participants and assets totaling $124,236.

STEVENSVILLE, Mich. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct Metal Processors Inc., a die maker in Stevensville, and owner Russel Reschke, to restore $16,200 in employee contributions plus lost interest to the company’s 401(k) plan. The case resulted from an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

OAK PARK HEIGHTS, Minn. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Greeder Mondor Electric Co., a defunct Oak Park Heights electrical contractor, and the company’s owner, Scott Mondor, for allegedly failing to administer and terminate the Greeder Mondor Electric Co. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

JANESVILLE, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and court order requiring Janesville-based Premier Vending Inc. and David R. Biggerstaff, the president and former owner of the company, to restore a total of $31,204.46 in voluntary employee contributions plus lost interest to the company’s 401(k) plan. The judgment, entered in U.S. district court in Madison, resolves a lawsuit filed by the department for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.