Labor Department Sues Dallas Employer And Plan Official For Violating Employee Rights Under Federal Pension Law

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

The U.S. Department of Labor has sued a Dallas employer and plan administrator of the company’s 401(k) pension plan for allegedly firing an employee for making inquiries about the status of his own plan account.

According to the lawsuit, Herbert Webb, Jr., the president and sole shareholder of Herbert Webb, Inc., a label printing business, fired participant Kenneth W. Griffin when he questioned Webb about his 401(k) contributions. Griffin, a full-time sales representative and label specialist, worked for Webb from Jan. 1, 1992 through July 1, 1998. Beginning in April, 1998, Griffin questioned Webb several times about the management of the plan after discovering that his contributions made prior to March, 1998, had not been deposited into his 401(k) account. Webb, who previously had managed the 401(k) pension plan assets, failed to forward the bulk of his employees’ respective 401(k) plan assets to newly-established plan accounts that were to be managed by a third-party administrator.

The lawsuit charges that Webb and Herbert Webb, Inc. impermissibly terminated Griffin for engaging in protected activities under Section 510 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA Section 510 says it is unlawful for any person to discharge, fine, suspend, expel, discipline or discriminate against a participant or beneficiary for exercising their right under the federal pension law.

In this case, the department is seeking to have Webb permanently barred from further violations of ERISA, ordered to pay back wages plus benefits, with interest, to Griffin as restitution, and to either reinstate Griffin or to pay front pay.

The lawsuit arose from an investigation conducted by the Dallas Regional Office of the department’s Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration into alleged violations of the ERISA. The lawsuit was filed June 27 in federal court in Dallas.

(Herman v. Herbert Webb, Inc.) Civil Action No. 3-00CV1391-D

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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.