December 21, 2010

US Department of Labor agencies to host live Web chats, conference call on regulatory agendas between Jan. 4 and 7

WASHINGTON – Officials at seven of the U.S. Department of Labor’s agencies will host live Web chats and, in one case, a conference call to discuss their respective regulatory agendas during the first week of January 2011. These events are open to the public and members of the press. The Labor Department’s entire regulatory agenda was published in the Dec. 20 issue of the Federal Register.

Who:

December 13, 2010

US Department of Labor obtains court order against Georgia investment firm and owner to restore more than $1 million to plumbers’ pension plan

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order requiring C.S. Capital Management Inc. of Atlanta, Ga., and owner Paul H. Saylor to restore $1,090,000 to the Plumbers and Pipefitters National Pension Plan as restitution for improperly investing $25 million in risky private placement bonds. The firm also was ordered to pay $109,990.91 in fines to the federal government.

December 10, 2010

US Labor Department sues trustee and sponsor of Phillipston, Mass., company’s 401(k) plan, seeks restoration of misused assets

WORCESTER, Mass. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Christopher Wong and his company, Wong’s Motor Corp. of Phillipston, Mass., for allegedly violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by using employees’ 401 (k) plan contributions for the benefit of the company.

December 1, 2010

Executive of Dayton tool and die company sentenced for embezzlement of employee pension funds

DAYTON, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration announced that Gary L. Merritt, vice president of Bemcore Inc. of Dayton, has been sentenced by a federal district court in Ohio to five years’ probation and was ordered to restore $186,070 to his victims.

November 29, 2010

Third-party retirement plan administrator sentenced for false statement on Form 5500, following US Labor Department investigation

PHILADELPHIA – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that the owner of Philadelphia Pension Planning Corp., formerly located in Montgomery County, Pa., was sentenced to 15 months in prison and three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $715,228.79 to the Bustleton Landscaping Co. Inc. Profit Sharing Plan for making a false statement in the Form 5500 annual report.

November 29, 2010

US Labor Department sues pension plans trustee of 2 defunct New York City garment companies to recover millions of dollars in misused assets

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued trustee Colette Mordo for alleged misuse of more than $4.6 million in plan assets of the Sadimara Knitwear Inc. and the Stallion Knits Ltd. defined benefit pension plans, in violation of her fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The lawsuit is based on an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration.

November 29, 2010

US Labor Department obtains court judgment ordering former Marietta, Ga., insurance agency to restore more than $77,000 to 401(k) plan

KENNESAW, Ga. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order requiring the Hoyla Insurance Group Inc. and owner Michael Hoyla to restore $77,470.48 to the former company's 401(k) retirement plan.

Following an investigation by the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration, the department filed a lawsuit alleging that the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by comingling employee contributions with company funds.

November 29, 2010

US Labor Department proposes rule to enhance target date retirement fund disclosures

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed rule that will help America's workers better understand target date retirement funds and other similar investments offered in 401(k)-type pension plans.

November 23, 2010

US Labor Department sues former Orlando, Fla., security consulting company to restore 401(k) plan assets

ORLANDO, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing the defunct Bordes Group Inc. and the estate of its late owner, Roy Bordes, to restore assets to the company’s 401(k) plan for the benefit of the plan’s participants and beneficiaries.

November 23, 2010

US Labor Department sues defunct Lakeland, Fla., automotive equipment and tools sales company to restore 401(k) losses to plan participants

LAKELAND, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct GBK & Associates Inc. and its owners, Deborah Burgess-Wyngate and George Kamanis, to restore losses suffered by the company’s 401(k) plan participants and beneficiaries. The lawsuit followed an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 23, 2010

US Labor Department settles dispute with former Tampa, Fla., pharmaceutical corporation over retirement plan assets

TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained consent judgments requiring Medipharm-Rx Inc. and two 401(k) plan administrators to restore more than $10,000 in losses incurred by the company’s 401(k) plan.

November 18, 2010

US Labor Department proposes rule to implement annual funding notice requirement for pension plans

WASHINGTON – Pursuant to a requirement imposed by the Pension Protection Act of 2006, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed rule to implement the annual funding notice requirement under section 101(f) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 17, 2010

US Labor Department obtains judgments against trustees of New York City- based pension plan for violating employee benefits law

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment against trustee Samuel Kohl and default judgments against trustee Caren Kohl and Welko Inc. of New York City as fiduciaries of the Welko Inc. Pension Plan, permanently barring them from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any employee benefit plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues Somerset, Pa., companies and executive to protect 401(k) profit-sharing plan participants

SOMERSET, Pa. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Super City Sports Sales Inc., general manager James V. Sujansky and parent company Pioneer Inc. for failing to remit employee contributions to the company's 401(k) profit-sharing plan, and for withdrawing all remaining plan funds in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department announces nationwide enforcement actions to protect millions of dollars in worker retirement and health benefits

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a series of enforcement actions to protect more than $7 million for workers in retirement plans or health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues defunct Ocala, Fla., construction company to restore 401(k) plan assets for the benefit of plan participants

OCALA, Fla. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the defunct Triple T Construction Inc. and its owner, George Thompson III, to restore assets to the former company's 401(k) plan for the benefit of plan participants and beneficiaries.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues executive of Austin, Texas, veterinary clinic over misuse of 401(k) profit sharing plan assets

AUSTIN, Texas - The U.S. Department of Labor sued the chief financial officer and husband of the owner of bankrupt TLS Vets P.A., located in Austin, for misusing 401(k) profit sharing assets to benefit himself and the veterinary clinic.

November 16, 2010

US Department of Labor sues Mt. Horeb Plumbing Inc. and owner to restore more than $30,000 to employee 401(k) plan

MT. HOREB, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Mt. Horeb Plumbing Inc. and its owner and president, Michael D. O’Connell, for failing to make $30,120.65 in contributions and for untimely remitting $49,235.15 to the company’s employee 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues Dallas paralegal company and executive to recover plan assets for company's SIMPLE IRA plan

DALLAS - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Paralegals Plus Inc. in Dallas and its chief executive officer for failure to remit employee contributions and plan assets to the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account, or SIMPLE IRA plan and for using the plan's assets to benefit the company, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

November 16, 2010

U.S. Labor Department sues Charleston, SC, heating and air conditioning company to restore more than $44,000 in retirement plan losses

CHARLESTON, S.C. - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Charleston, S.C.-based Wappoo Service Heating and Air Conditioning and its president, Perry Miles, to restore $44,250.34 in losses suffered by participants and beneficiaries of the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account, or SIMPLE IRA plan. The lawsuit followed an investigation by the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.