News Brief
US Department of Labor files suit against defunct Baltimore payroll processing company for failure to remit employee contributions to 401(k) plan
Date of Action: January 8, 2024
Type of Action: Complaint
Company: iProcess Online Inc. and Chief Operating Officer and Human Resources Director Michelle Leach-Bard
Background: The Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor filed a lawsuit after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration found the now defunct Baltimore payroll processing company and fiduciary Leach-Bard failed to remit $192,511 in participant and employer contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan from January 2014 through August 2023. They also failed to process requests for participant distributions and rollovers. These actions violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Filed in the U.S. District for the District of Maryland, the complaint seeks restoration of all plan losses including lost opportunity earnings, delinquent employee contributions of $175,902, delinquent employer contributions of $16,609 and lost opportunity earnings of $59,858. It additionally seeks removal and a fiduciary bar, appointment of an independent fiduciary paid for by the fiduciary defendants and preservation of all books and records relating to finances and administration of the company and plan.
Quote: “Failing to forward employee and employer contributions to company 401(k) plans violates employees’ trust and denies workers the opportunity to earn interest on their investments and prepare for their future,” said Employee Benefits Security Administration Deputy Regional Director Norman Jackson in Philadelphia.
