Labor Department Reaches Settlement With Grigsby Brothers Paper Box Manufacturers, Portland, IN Pension Case

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that a consent order was entered Sept. 7, 1999, in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon which resolves the department’s suit against Grigsby Brothers Paper Box Manufacturers, Portland, its president Walter Grigsby and vice president Terrence Grigsby for alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the federal pension law, relating to their administration of the Grigsby Brothers Paper Box Manufacturers 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan.

According to Bette Briggs, regional director for the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) in San Francisco, the defendants will pay the Plan $18,951 for employee and employer contributions that were not forwarded, and lost interest earnings calculated through August 3, 1999.

The Labor Department alleged that the company and plan trustees Walter and Terrence Grigsby breached their fiduciary responsibilities imposed upon them under ERISA by engaging in a pattern of withholding employee contributions from participants’ paychecks and then failing to forward these contributions to the Plan within the time period required by Department of Labor regulations. Similarly, the department alleged that the defendants failed to collect for the Plan the required matching pension plan contributions.

In addition to the restoration of any losses suffered by the Plan, under the terms of today’s consent order, the defendants agreed to step down as fiduciaries of the Plan and to appoint an independent fiduciary with full discretionary authority to administer the Plan. Further, the defendants are enjoined from serving as fiduciaries or service providers to any employee benefit plan covered by ERISA for a period of ten years.

Following the appointment of the independent fiduciary, the defendants will provide all books and records of the Plan to the independent fiduciary.

The original court filing and today’s subsequent settlement and consent order resulted from an investigation conducted by the Seattle PWBA District Office following a participant complaint. Briggs emphasized the importance of participants’ responsibility in monitoring their pension plan and encourages participants to contact the Seattle PWBA District Office at 206-553-4244 for information or to report possible violations.

Note to editors: Civil Action File Number 71-008069 (48)

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

Contact Name: Michael Shimizu
Phone Number: 206.553.7620
TDD: 800.676.8956