US Labor Department sues Plymouth, Minn.-based Mirror Factory and owners to restore more than $14,000 to company’s 401(k) plan

MINNEAPOLIS – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the Mirror Factory Inc., a custom mirror and glass company in Plymouth, Minn., and its co-owners, Jeff Hagstrom and Daniel Elofson, to restore $14,651.38 in employees’ pre-tax contributions plus lost interest to the company’s 401(k) plan. The case resulted from an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

“It is an egregious violation of trust when employees’ voluntary salary contributions are not forwarded to their retirement plans,” said Jim Purcell, EBSA’s acting regional director in Kansas City, Mo. “The Labor Department will fight for workers when fiduciaries fail in their responsibilities to properly administer employee benefits.”

Filed in U.S. district court in Minneapolis, the suit alleges that the company and its co-owners violated ERISA by failing to forward employee contributions to the plan from Jan. 1, 2006, through Oct. 9, 2009.  Those funds were retained in Mirror Factory Inc.’s general account and used to pay operating expenses. The suit also alleges that the co-owners failed to bond the plan against losses.

The Labor Department seeks a court order to restore money owed to the plan, including lost opportunity costs, as well as to terminate the plan and distribute its assets to participants and beneficiaries. Additionally, the department seeks to prevent the company and its co-owners from serving as fiduciaries to any ERISA-covered employee benefit plan in the future.

EBSA protects the security of 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 a similar number of other workplace related benefit plans that provide benefits to more than 150 million Americans. Collectively, these plans hold more than $6 trillion in assets.

Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Kansas City Regional Office at 816-285-1800 or toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans.  Additional information can be found at www.dol.gov/ebsa.

Solis v. Jeff Hagstrom, Daniel Elofson, Mirror Factory Inc.
Civil Action Number: 0:11-cv-01852

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U.S. Department of Labor news materials are accessible at www.dol.gov. The information above is available in large print, Braille, audio tape or disc from the COAST office upon request by calling 202-693-7828 or TTY 202-693-7755.