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News Release
Labor Department Settles Suit Against Page International of Paducah, Kentucky For Federal Pension Law Violations
Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
Atlanta, Georgia - The owner of Paducah, Kentucky-based Page International, Inc. agreed to pay $21,433.63 to the company’s 401(k) profit sharing plan and be removed as the plan’s sole trustee under a consent judgment and order obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor on March 8.
"This action reaffirms our commitment to protect the hard-earned benefits promised by employers," said Joseph Menez, director of the department’s Cincinnati regional office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, which investigated the case.
James A. Page, president of Page International, also agreed to waive his account balance with the plan to pay the restitution and to pay an additional $5,000 to cover the cost of the court-appointed fiduciary, Larry Lefoldt of Lefoldt & Company, Jackson, Mississippi. The independent fiduciary will manage plan assets, distribute them to participants and terminate the plan. Page also was permanently barred from serving plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).
The suit, filed simultaneously with the consent judgment and order, alleges that Page and the company violated ERISA by failing to timely forward participants’ contributions to the plan. As a result, the participants other than Page were owed unpaid contributions of $21,433.63 plus lost earnings as of May 23, 2000.
Page also was alleged to have used the money for purposes other than to pay benefits and failed to obtain a fidelity bond as required by ERISA.
Page International, Inc. sponsored the 401(k) plan for 25 participants and had $122,270 in assets as of December 31, 1998.
Employers and workers can contact the Toll-Free Employee & Employer Hotline at 1.866.275.7922 for help with any problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.
(Chao v. Page International, Inc.
Civil Action No. 5:02 CV-00054R)
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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.