EBSA Press Release: Pension Agency Names Director of Enforcement [08/19/1997]

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The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the appointment of Virginia C. Smith as the new Director of Enforcement for the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA). Smith is an attorney and expert in pension law who has worked for the agency for 12 years.

"It is an honor to have Virginia focus her considerable talents and energies in the direction of enforcement," said PWBA Assistant Secretary Olena Berg. "We are fortunate to have someone in the position who has both investigative and litigation experience and who brings great enthusiasm to her work. I look forward to working with her again in the national office as she accepts this latest and newest challenge."

Smith joined the Department of Labor in 1979 as a trial attorney with the Solicitor's Office, which handles legal issues relating to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). In 1985 she assumed the position of chief of PWBA's Division of Field Operations, working with the agency's national network of 15 field offices to investigate ERISA violations. In 1993 Smith advanced to become the agency's primary liaison offer with the Office of the Secretary, and in 1994 she accepted the position of Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary, where she monitored major PWBA programs and activities. In 1996 she accepted an appointment as director of PWBA's Philadelphia Regional Office.

In her new position as Director of Enforcement, Smith will oversee the activities and initiatives of the offices responsible for conducting investigations into civil and criminal violations of Title I of ERISA. The act protects the integrity of private sector pension and welfare plans.