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News Release
Labor Department Sues to Obtain Independent Fiduciary For Abandoned New York 401(K) Plan
Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.
New York, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor filed a lawsuit on December 23, 2002 to obtain a court-appointed independent fiduciary to manage the 401(k) plan of defunct Hayden Wegman, Inc. of New York City for the benefit of the workers.
“The Department of Labor is committed to doing everything we can to assist workers who have been abandoned by employers and fiduciaries,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor, Elaine L. Chao. “Through our focused enforcement program, we have conducted nearly 600 investigations into “orphaned” plans and returned $54 million to workers. To assure orderly plan operations, the department also arranged for independent fiduciaries to run 54 of these plans.”
Plans become “orphan plans” when they are abandoned by all plan fiduciaries designated to manage the plans and their assets. The 401(k) plan has been orphaned since the plan’s sole trustee, Robert Harvey, resigned on October 29, 1999. Harvey was the former president and chief executive officer of the company.
The Labor Department's lawsuit alleges that a violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) occurred when Harvey failed and refused to perform his duties for the plan from October 1999 until the present time and to appoint a replacement trustee.
The department is seeking a court order to remove plan fiduciary Robert Harvey as trustee of the plan and to appoint an independent fiduciary to replace him.
Hayden Wegman, Inc. was an engineering firm that sponsored the plan and served as the plan’s administrator. The 401(k) plan covered 45 employees and has approximately $850,000 in assets.
The suit was filed in federal district court in New York. Employers and workers can contact the regional office on PWBA’s Toll-Free Employee & Employer Hotline number, 1.866.275.7922, for help with any problems relating to private-sector pension and health plans.
(Chao v. The Hayden Wegman, Inc. 401(k) Pension Plan
Civil Action No. 02CV10163)
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Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.