Labor Department Obtains Judgment Providing for Distribution of 401(k) Assets to Employees of Defunct Alameda Firm

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment appointing an independent fiduciary to distribute more than $149,500 in assets to 19 participants of the 401(k) plan of defunct Alameda, California-based RadixOne. The technology firm, formerly known as ReSolutions Group, closed in 2003.

The judgment also prohibits Richard Baldyga, the former president and CEO of RadixOne, from serving for one year as a plan fiduciary to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). He also must pay the costs of the independent fiduciary, Nicholas Saakvitne, and any bond required by the law.

The judgment resolves a lawsuit alleging that Baldyga violated ERISA when he failed to distribute plan assets to certain former employees after making distributions to him and other participants. The judgment, entered in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, resulted from an investigation conducted by the San Francisco regional office of the Labor Department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).

“The Labor Department is committed to helping workers whose plans are abandoned,” said Ann L. Combs, assistant secretary of labor for EBSA. “This order means the former employees of RadixOne will be able to access to their hard-earned retirement benefits.”

To assist workers in similar situations, the Labor Department has published rules to facilitate a voluntary, safe and efficient process for winding up the affairs of abandoned plans. The new rules, which went into effect May 22, allow financial institutions to take responsibility and distribute the assets of 401(k) plans to affected workers and their families. The department estimates that 1,650 such plans are abandoned each year. Information about the new rules is available under the Abandoned Plan Program section of EBSA’s Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Employers and workers with questions or concerns regarding their private-sector pension and health plans can contact EBSA’s regional office in San Francisco at 415.975.4600 or EBSA’s toll free number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272). In fiscal year 2005, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.7 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families.

(Chao v. Baldyga)
Civil Action No. 3:06-cv-3568

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

Contact Name: David James/Gloria Della
Phone Number: 202.693.4676/202.693.8664