February 2, 2006

Labor Department Updates Exemptions Permitting Transactions With Financial Institutions and Insurers

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

February 1, 2006

Labor Department Obtains Appointment of Independent Fiduciary for Abandoned Buffalo, N.Y., Retirement Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Buffalo, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned retirement plan of the Geneva B. Scruggs Community Health Care Center of Buffalo.

January 31, 2006

Labor Department Sues Owner of Defunct Minnesota Firm To Protect 401(k) Employee Contributions

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Minneapolis, Minnesota - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an adversary complaint against Donald O. Sachs, president and sole owner of The Stitchery Studio Inc., Burnsville, Minnesota. The suit seeks to prevent Sachs from discharging a debt of $1,218.62 owed to the company’s 401(k) plan.

January 31, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Trustee for Abandoned White Plains, N.Y., 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer the abandoned 401(k) plan originally sponsored by WP Ford LLC of White Plains, New York.

January 26, 2006

Labor Department Sues Owners of Fairfield County, Ohio, Business To Restore Delinquent Contributions to Company’s 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Chicago, Illinois - The U.S. Department of Labor sued Rodney G. Stepleton and Eddie E. Ruble, owners of Stepleton & Ruble Steel Inc., Baltimore, Ohio, for failing to forward employee contributions to the company’s pension plan and to segregate plan contributions from the general operating assets of the company, as part of a lawsuit alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

January 26, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Trustee for Abandoned Latham, New York, 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Albany, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer the abandoned 401(k) plan originally sponsored by Green Appliances Inc. of Latham, New York.

January 23, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues Leesburg, Ga., Professional Employer Organization for Health Plan Mismanagement

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued National Workforce Inc., Leesburg, Georgia, and two of its executives for mismanagement of the firm’s employee health plan.

January 19, 2006

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Trustee for Abandoned 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Detroit, Michigan - The U.S. Department of Labor filed suit asking the federal district court in Detroit to appoint an independent trustee for the abandoned retirement plan of Zimm’s Vacuum Cleaner Company Inc., Livonia, Michigan, which ceased doing business in 2002.

January 18, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Settlement with Greenfield, Ind., Business Owner to Restore Funds to Workers’ Simple IRA Program

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Evansville, Indiana - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a settlement restoring $6,203.94 to the J. Smith and Company Inc. Simple IRA Plan. The agreement also ensures that the plan’s fiduciary will secure a fidelity bond and keep it active throughout the life of the retirement plan, as required by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

January 12, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues to Restore Assets to Gadsden, Alabama, Company’s Profit Sharing Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Bowen Electric Company and owners, Jimmy T. Bowen and Sandra O. Bowen, to restore more than $33,400 to participants in the Gadsden, Alabama, company’s profit sharing plan.

January 10, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Restores $75,000 to Oakland Engineering Firm’s 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Francisco, California - Two former executives of Manna Consultants, an Oakland, California-based corporation, have agreed to restore $75,000 in employee assets to the company’s 401(k) plan. The judgment resolves a 2004 lawsuit filed by the U.S. Labor Department which sought $57,451 plus interest for 20 former employees who were plan participants.

January 10, 2006

Labor Department Issues Rules on Multiemployer Pension Plan Funding Notices

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced final rules requiring administrators of multiemployer pension plans to furnish annually a notice on the funding status of the plans under provisions of the Pension Funding Equity Act of 2004.

January 6, 2006

Assistant Secretary of Labor Addresses Ft. Wayne, Ind., Businesses on President’s Retirement Security and Health Care Agenda

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Fort Wayne, Indiana - U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs spoke to the Northern Indiana ASPPA Benefits Council in Fort Wayne, Indiana, today highlighting the Bush Administration’s economic policies and the retirement and health care issues critical to America’s workers, retirees and their families.

December 28, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Consent Judgment Restoring Funds to Portland Company’s Employee Stock Ownership Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Portland, Oregon - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment in which funds will be restored to the Litho Development and Research Inc.’s employee stock ownership plan to cover losses resulting from fiduciary breaches by Ralph Johnson, the company's president, chief executive officer and the plan's trustee.

December 15, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sponsors New York Seminar On Compliance With Federal Employee Benefits Law

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in New York City will hold a seminar to assist employers, pension plan administrators and other benefit professionals comply with federal employee benefits law. The seminar will be held January 13, 2006, at the Broad Financial Center, 33 Whitehall Street, 11th Floor Conference Room.

December 13, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Sues California Health Benefit Fund to Recover $1.2 Million for Unpaid Health Claims

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Paramount, California-based International Union of Public and Industrial Workers (IUPIW) Canadian Benefit Fund and its trustees for more than $1.2 million to cover unpaid health care claims due more than 2,000 workers and their families nationwide.

December 13, 2005

Hollywood, Florida Pension Trustee Ordered to Restore Almost $108,000 to Pension Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The Gary M. Hochberg CLU Insurance Agency of Hollywood, Florida, and the trustee of its pension plan, have been ordered to restore almost $108,000 to the plan as restitution for improper transfers of plan assets. The order resulted from a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor.

December 8, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Judgment Against Sham Florida Union for Payment of $11 Million in Health Benefits

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment requiring the Service and Business Workers of America Local 125, located in Juno Beach, Florida, to pay $11 million in unpaid health claims owed to union members and their families. The judgment also bars the union from service as a fiduciary to any employee benefit plan in the future.

December 8, 2005

Labor Department Publishes 2005 Form M-1 for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements - Online Filing Available

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will publish in the December 9, 2005, Federal Register the 2005 Form M-1 annual report for multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs). Plan administrators may use EBSA's online filing system to expedite processing of the form.

December 7, 2005

Labor Department Sues to Assist Retirement Plan Participants Of Defunct Delaware Company

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued IT Factory Solution Inc. (ITFS), a defunct Delaware corporation, asking the court to appoint an independent fiduciary to terminate the company's retirement plan and distribute its assets to participants and beneficiaries.

ITFS became plan trustee and administrator when it acquired Solutions By Design Inc., the Virginia company that started the plan.