LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued executives of Journey Electrical Technologies Inc. of Laguna Hills, Calif., for allegedly failing to collect more than $920,000 in employee and employer contributions owed to the company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct VIPswitch Inc. of Rowley, Mass.

COSHOCTON, Ohio – A federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, has entered a consent order and judgment requiring Barbara Elise Miller, an executive of Three Rivers Option Care in Coshocton, to repay $78,562.81 in employee contributions and lost opportunity costs to the participants and beneficiaries of the company’s savings investment match plan for employees individual retirement account plan. The judgment follows an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (known as the ERISA Advisory Council) will convene by teleconference Oct. 4 to discuss reports and recommendations on topics to be submitted to the Secretary of Labor.

The council meeting will be held from Noon to 5:00 p.m. EDT, to discuss reports and recommendations for the Secretary of Labor on topics under study by the group. The advisory council meeting is open to the public.

LOS ANGELES – The U. S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced that the owner of a Pasadena spa and salon has been indicted on federal charges that he embezzled thousands of dollars from his employees’ 401(k) profit-sharing 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.

Turlock, California – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued D. L. Silva Inc., Daniel Silva, Dennette Dores and the estate of Dennis Silva for allegedly failing to remit or collect $104,513 in employee and employer contributions owed to the company's plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The plan provides health and pension benefits to as many as 19 company employees.

BOULDER, Mont.—The U. S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of M.S. Molitor Trucking Inc. and M.D. Service LLC of Boulder, Mont., for failure to timely deposit $144,398.49 in delinquent employee contributions owed to the company’s SIMPLE IRA plans in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The companies ceased operations as of Dec. 1, 2008.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed regulation to update the procedure for filing and processing applications for exemptions from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The proposed regulation is published in the August 30 edition of the Federal Register.

San Jose, California – The U. S. Department of Labor sued Mili Group Inc. of San Jose, and its owner for allegedly misusing retirement plan assets for their own benefit, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Tampa, Florida – The U.S. Department of Labor is suing Angell Contracting and Construction Inc., Creative Carpentry Inc., Angell Restoration Services and the owner of the three companies, Chad Angell, to require the defendants to restore losses to the companies’ 401(k) savings plan.

The department’s lawsuit alleges that between January and September of 2007 the companies failed to timely forward $25,752.04 to the savings plan in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the governing plan documents.

Washington — Today the U. S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) released the agenda for the upcoming joint hearing with the Department of the Treasury on lifetime income options for retirement plans. Accompanying the agenda are copies of the witnesses’ requests to testify and testimony outlines. The hearing begins at 9:00 a.m. (EST) on September 14 and 15, 2010. The hearing will be held in the Labor Department’s main auditorium, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C.

West Chester, Pennsylvania — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct Reneuxit Inc. of West Chester, Mark D. Dampman and Wayne K. Hall for making improper loans and transfers from the company’s pension plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Dampman is a former corporate officer and trustee of the pension plan and Hall is the current plan trustee and was a corporate officer until the company ceased operations in January 2007.

Arlington, Virginia – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia has issued a default judgment removing Global System Enterprises Inc., formerly of Arlington, as fiduciary of its 401(k) plan.

Omaha, Nebraska – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Nebraska Department of Insurance will co-host a free health law compliance assistance seminar September 14 and 15 at the Holiday Inn Omaha Convention Center, 3321 South 72nd Street in Omaha.

Washington – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (also known as the ERISA Advisory Council) will meet August 31 to Septeber 2 in Washington at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room C-5515-1A, to hear testimony from witnesses.

The meeting will take place on August 31 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT and on September 1 and 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. EDT.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will hold a free workshop on September 1 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT to help employers, the employee benefit community and others better comply with federal pension law. The workshop will be held at 33 Whitehall Street, 11th floor, in Manhattan.

Washington – The U. S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Department of the Treasury today announced a joint public hearing on Sept. 14, 2010, and if necessary on Sept. 15, to hear testimony on several specific issues relating to lifetime income and other arrangements that provide a stream of income after retirement for workers in employer-sponsored retirement plans. The hearing will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Labor Department's auditorium, 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. in Washington, D.C.

Blackstone, Virginia – The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, has issued a default judgment against OSF America Inc. removing the former Blackstone company as fiduciary of its tax deferred savings plan.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has launched a new online index for locating individual exemptions granted under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

This new online index lets people search by subject matter for individual exemptions granted from 1996 through 2010. For example, the index catalogues exemptions relating to captive reinsurance, co-investing, collateralized mortgage obligations, leases and in-kind contributions.