US Labor Department obtains order requiring Sparta, Wis.-based Quality Tool and Machine, president to restore more than $11,000 to retirement plan

SPARTA, Wis. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent order and judgment requiring Quality Tool and Machine Inc. of Sparta and the company's president, Jerry Freimuth, to restore $11,763 in employee contributions and lost opportunity costs to the company's savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account. The judgment, entered in U.S. district court in Madison, resolves a lawsuit filed by the department alleging violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

The suit alleged that the defendants failed to forward voluntary employee contributions to the company's SIMPLE IRA from March 10, 2003, through Dec. 30, 2008.

"Our legal action underscores the Labor Department's commitment to hold accountable those who are entrusted with the assets of workers' retirement plans," said Steve Haugen, regional director of the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration in Chicago. "We will continue to help workers obtain their rightful benefits when plan fiduciaries violate the law."

The judgment also permanently bars Freimuth from serving as a fiduciary or service provider to any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan in the future.

The investigation was conducted by EBSA's Chicago Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach the Chicago office at 312-353-0900 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans.

EBSA protects the retirement, health and other workplace-related benefits of America's workers, retirees and their families. The agency oversees approximately 708,000 private sector retirement plans, 2.8 million health plans and other plans that provide benefits to more than 150 million Americans. Collectively, these plans hold more than $6 trillion in assets. Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Freimuth, Quality Tool and Machine Inc.
Civil Action Number: 3:10-cv-00708

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