Buffalo, New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment prohibiting a former trustee of the Franbilt Inc. 401(k) Plan from serving as a fiduciary to any employee benefit plan covered by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Franbilt Inc., now defunct, was a steel fabrication plant located in Lockport, New York.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed two lawsuits asking the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York to appoint independent fiduciaries to oversee the abandoned profit-sharing plans of defunct H&M Tool & Machine Co. Inc. and Valmar Industrial Corp., both formerly located in the Binghamton, New York, area.

Washington – The U.S. Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services today announced publication of a request for information (RFI) soliciting public comments in advance of developing rulemakings on group health plans. The RFI is published in today’s Federal Register.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Bonnie Tile and several of its former corporate officers to require them to restore assets to the defunct company’s savings incentive match plan for Employees (SIMPLE IRA) plan.

Newark, New Jersey – A free health law compliance assistance seminar for employers, plan fiduciaries and plan services providers, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance, will take place on April 22 and 23 at the Essex County College, 303 University Avenue, Smith Lecture Hall, Room 2131.

Hackensack, New Jersey — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment appointing Jacqueline Carmichael as the independent fiduciary of the profit sharing plan of defunct Jules Prosnitz & Sons Inc., formerly doing business as Prozy’s Army-Navy Store, in Hackensack. The court order gives Carmichael authority to terminate the plan and distribute approximately $110,178 in assets to five plan participants.

Boston – Robert Kjellman, former owner of bankrupt Massachusetts children’s furniture store chain BB Kids LLC, has agreed to restore $14,212 to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Batesville Truck Line and Jet Transportation and the trustees of the company’s 401(k) plan for allegedly failing to administer the plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

Salt Lake City – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits and Security Administration (EBSA) will hold free, half-day workshops in Salt Lake City on April 14 to help employers, the employee benefit community and others better understand and comply with federal pension law. The workshops will be held at the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, 125 South State St., Room 2404 at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (MDT).

New Haven, Connecticut – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering the owner and operator of Fairfield Podiatry Associates LLC of Fairfield, Connecticut, to restore more than $32,000 to the company’s 401(k) plan. The defendant must also pay a civil penalty of almost $6,500 to the Labor Department.

New York City – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will hold a free workshop on April 28 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT to help employers, the employee benefit community and others better comply with federal pension law. The workshop will be held at 33 Whitehall Street, 11th Floor in Manhattan.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a consent judgment and order with defunct Shelton and Associates and a corporate officer to restore assets to the former company’s pension plan.

Kansas City, Missouri — The U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will sponsor workshops April 6 through 10 in Kansas City on subsidy for continuation health benefits under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). These health benefits are particularly important for unemployed workers.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will host a free webcast April 6 to help employers and plan administrators understand new requirements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) relating to continuation health coverage.

Chesterfield, Michigan – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Detroit, Michigan, to obtain appointment of an independent fiduciary to terminate the profit-sharing trust of Constitution Mold & Engineering Inc. (CME) and distribute its assets to eligible plan participants. CME was formerly a business operated in Chesterfield.

Dallas – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment appointing G Trust as the independent fiduciary of the 401(k) plan of defunct Warren Manufacturing Inc. of Morris, Oklahoma. The court order gives G Trust authority to manage the assets of the abandoned 401(k), terminate the plan and distribute $16,159.55 to nine participants.

Boston – Matthew G. Hillery, president and sole officer of defunct Solid Sense Systems Corp. of Waltham, Massachusetts, has agreed to restore more than $25,000 to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) under a consent judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor. The judgment resolves a lawsuit that alleged he violated his duty as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Newport News, Virginia — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Newport News, alleging that former National Football League (NFL) player Michael Vick and others violated federal employee benefits law by making a series of prohibited transfers from a pension plan sponsored by one of his companies. The department also simultaneously filed an adversary complaint in federal bankruptcy court to prevent Vick from discharging his alleged debt to the MV7 retirement plan.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published in the March 20, 2009, edition of the Federal Register a notice extending to May 22, 2009, the applicability and effective dates of the final rule on investment advice under the Pension Protection Act (PPA).

Washington — The U.S. Department of Labor today released four model notice packages that will enable group health plans and employers to provide notice on the availability of premium reductions and additional election opportunities under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009, made available a premium reduction and the additional election period as part of the administration’s stimulus package.