U.S. Department of Labor Obtains Consent Judgment Ordering Connecticut Companies to Restore $17,352 to Employees’ 401(k) Plan

HARTFORD, CT – The U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut has approved a consent order and judgment requiring fiduciaries Executive Printing of Darien LLC, Chapin Packaging LLC and John Trask Pfeifle to restore $17,352.83 to the Darien, Connecticut, companies’ 401(k) retirement benefits plan.

The action follows a U.S. Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) investigation that found – from July 2014 to August 2015 – the defendants, fiduciaries to the Chapin Packaging LLC 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust, violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). EBSA determined that the fiduciaries withheld employee contributions and failed to remit them to the retirement plan. They also failed to secure a fidelity bond for the plan beginning in January 2018.

The order and judgment requires the defendants to restore the $17,352.83 – that represents the unremitted contributions and lost opportunity costs – to the plan, secure a fidelity bond for the plan and issue an updated summary plan description to the plan’s participants. It also enjoins the defendants from future ERISA violations.

“Fiduciaries must work solely in the interest of plans and participants. When they fail to do so, they jeopardize the financial security of workers, which we will not tolerate,” said Employee Benefits Security Administration Regional Director Carol Hamilton in Boston, Massachusetts.

“The U.S. Department of Labor took this action on behalf of the employees to ensure the plan’s proper administration and participants’ access to their hard-earned retirement funds,” said Regional Solicitor Maia Fisher in Boston.

EBSA’s Boston regional office investigated and the Regional Solicitor in Boston litigated on the Department’s behalf.

Employers and workers can reach EBSA toll-free at 866-444-3272 for help with problems related to private sector retirement and health plans. Additional information is at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa.

EBSA’s mission is to assure the security of the retirement, health and other workplace related benefits of America’s workers and their families. EBSA accomplishes this mission by developing effective regulations; assisting and educating workers, plan sponsors, fiduciaries and service providers and vigorously enforcing the law.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and, assure work-related benefits and rights.

Scalia v. Executive Printing of Darien LL, Chapin Packaging LLC and John Trask Pfeifle

Civil Action No.  3:20-cv-00196-JBA