WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today published an overview of its enforcement activities in fiscal year 2023 in a new fact sheet. 

Date of action: February 5, 2024

Type of action: An emergency temporary restraining order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The action follows a complaint and motion filed by the U.S. Department of Labor on January 26, 2024.

SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment against Paul G. Fillet DMD Inc. and Dr. Paul G. Fillet for having unlawfully withdrawn more than $85,000 of employees’ retirement money from an employer-sponsored plan and abandoned the plan, preventing two participants from accessing roughly $160,000 in retirement savings.

MILTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent judgment and order in federal court requiring the trustees of coal producer Blackjewel LLC’s 401(k) plan to pay $637,014 in equitable restitution after an investigation found they violated fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.

MILTON, WV – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has entered into a settlement agreement to resolve more than $1.2 million in unpaid medical claims by the Revelation Energy LLC health care plan based in Milton.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that it is amending its Procedures Governing the Filing and Processing of Prohibited Transaction Exemption Applications. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration, the Department of the Treasury, the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration released a proposed regulation on automatic portability transactions under SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. The goal of automatic portability transactions is to help workers keep track of their retirement savings accounts and improve retirement security by reducing cash-outs when they change jobs.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration has issued guidance to improve retirement security through pension-linked emergency savings accounts, part of the implementation of the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022.

Date of Action:          January 8, 2024

Type of Action:         Complaint

Company:                  iProcess Online Inc. and Chief Operating Officer and Human Resources Director Michelle Leach-Bard 

Date of Action:          Jan. 8, 2024

Type of Action:         Complaint

Defendants:               Jones Dykstra and Associates Inc.

WASHINGTON – The U.S.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a proposal by its Employee Benefits Security Administration intended to support critical health care protections for consumers by rescinding its 2018 rule, “Definition of Employer – Association Health Plans.” 

WASHINGTON – The U.S.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, the IRS and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. today released informational copies of the 2023 Form 5500, Form 5500-SF, IRS Form 5500-EZ, IRS Form 5558 and their related instructions online. 

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor announced today that its Employee Benefits Security Administration will hold an online hearing beginning Dec. 12 on the agency’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, “Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary,” and related proposed prohibited transaction exemption amendments, published in the Federal Register on Nov. 3, 2023.

Date of Action:          Nov. 1, 2023

Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act default judgment

Company/Owners:    Claddagh Development Group LLC, operating as Claddagh Irish Pubs

Claddagh Development Group LLC Employee Savings Trust

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Employee Benefits Security Administration has proposed a retirement security rule updating the definition of an investment advice fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Date of Action:          Oct. 26, 2023

 Type of Action:         Employee Retirement Income Security Act default judgment

Company/Owners:    Associated Community Services Inc. 

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Labor has entered into a settlement agreement with EmblemHealth Inc., a New York-based insurer and third-party administrator of employment-based group health plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, resolving claims that Emblem breached its fiduciary duties under federal law by engaging in a practice known as “cross-plan offsetting.”