US Labor Department obtains judgment restoring nearly $18,000 to Clinton, Md., retirement plan

CLINTON, Md. — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment ordering Walton Mechanical Service Inc. and its president, David A. Walton Jr., to restore $17,378 to the company’s SIMPLE IRA Plan.

The judgment resolves a Labor Department lawsuit alleging that Walton and the company did not make required employer contributions or remit employee contributions to the plan, and co-mingled plan assets with the general assets of the company. The alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act occurred from January 2006 through July 2007.

Under the judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Greenbelt, the defendants will make restitution to the plan and pay a 20 percent penalty on the recovered funds. Walton also is permanently barred from acting as a fiduciary to any ERISA-covered plan in the future.

“Plan fiduciaries have a legal obligation to act in the best interest of the plan and its participants, and will be held accountable when that obligation is not met,” said Mabel Capolongo, director of the Philadelphia Regional Office of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.

The department’s legal action resulted from an investigation by EBSA’s district office in Washington, D.C. Employers and workers can contact that office at 202-693-8700 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems relating to private sector pension and health plans.

In fiscal year 2009, EBSA achieved monetary results of $1.3 billion in pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for millions of American workers and their families. Additional information can be found at http://www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Walton
Civil Action Number: 10-cv-0235-PJM

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