WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration will re-propose its rule on the definition of a fiduciary. Consistent with the president's January executive order on regulation, the re-proposal is designed to inform judgments, ensure an open exchange of views and protect consumers while avoiding unjustified costs and burdens. When finalized, this important consumer protection initiative will safeguard workers who are saving for retirement as well as the businesses that provide retirement plans to America's working men and women.

Date of Action:  Aug. 8, 2011

Type of Action: Complaint

Names of Defendants:  Odell Jones, III; Cecily Hoagland; and Jomar Building Company 401(k) Plan located in Detroit, Mich.

Date of Action:  Sept. 6, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendant: Thommes and Thomas Land Clearing, Inc., Thomas Benick and John Thommes, individually and as a fiduciaries to the Thommes and Thomas Land Clearing, Inc. SIMPLE IRA Plan

Date of Action:  Aug. 30, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Name of Defendant: Joseph M. Phelan, individually and as a fiduciary to the Phezer
Enterprises Inc. Health Plan and the Phezer Enterprises Inc. Health Plan

Allegations: Phelan, in his capacity as a fiduciary to the Phezer Enterprises Inc. Health Plan, failed to ensure that $10,470 in employee health premium contributions for the period of May 3, 2008, through July 12, 2008, were forwarded to the plan.

Date of Action:  Aug. 29, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendants: Alliance Excavating, Inc. and James Sowers, individually and as a fiduciary to the Alliance Excavating, Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan

Allegations: Sowers, in his capacity as a fiduciary to the Plan failed to ensure that qualified participants were able to obtain distributions of their individual account balances after the company ceased operations in 2007.

Date of Action: Aug. 24, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Names of Defendants: Brenda Duncan and Proto Craft, Inc. as fiduciaries to the Proto Craft, Inc. Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan.

Date of Action:  Aug. 18, 2011

Type of Action:  Judgment

Names of Defendants: Subspecialty Centers of America LLC in Merriville, Ind. and the company’s owner, Mark S. Weinberger.

Allegations: Subspecialty Centers of America LLC in Merriville and Weinberger, allegedly failing to administer and terminate the Subspecialty Centers of America LLC 401(k) Plan and Trust in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued defunct SEI Environmental Inc. and its president, Wiley McAllen Finley, to force the repayment of employee contributions totaling $10,717 that the suit alleges were not forwarded to the environmental consulting company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

PASADENA, Texas – A consent judgment and order have been entered in federal district court requiring $28,504 to be restored to the Modern Plumbing Co. Inc. 401(k) Plan, resolving a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor. The suit alleged that the following defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act: Modern Plumbing Co. Inc.; Modern Plumbing Supply Inc.; Modern Air Conditioning Inc., doing business as A/C Plus of Pasadena; and Albert Lloyd Hollub, one of the companies' majority owners.

LINCOLNTON , N.C. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Lincolnton-based Belding Hausman Inc. and President Curtis Wilford Stowe to restore $144,459 in employee contributions, employee loan repayments and lost earnings to the defunct company’s deferred compensation plan. The lawsuit follows an investigation by the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration that found the defendants violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration is soliciting nominations to fill five three-year vacancies on the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, known as the ERISA Advisory Council. The deadline to submit nominations is Sept. 16.

Date of Action:  July 14, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Name(s) of Defendant: SME Inc., d/b/a Allegra Print & Imaging and Sean Eagan, individually and as fiduciaries to the Allegra Print and Imaging 401(k) Plan and Trust and the Allegra Print and Imaging Health 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.

ATLANTA – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment that restores $16,047 to the participants in Craftsmen Custom Cabinets Inc.’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, the judgment issued by Judge Marvin Shoob requires that Barry Pugh and his wife, Cynthia Pugh, restore the funds and that none of the restored funds shall be allocated to the accounts of either of the defendants.  

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order to restore $46,869 to the employee benefit plan of now defunct AC General Engineering Inc., formerly located in Sacramento. The consent judgment and order resolve a lawsuit filed by the Labor Department in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California against the company and its officers and co-owners, Christopher Barringer and Atilano Alcala.

Date of Action:  June 30, 2011

Type of Action:  Complaint to appoint an independent fiduciary to terminate the plan and distribute its assets

Names of Defendant: JMN Consulting, Inc. and JMN Consulting, Inc. 401(k) P/S Plan

Date of Action:  June 29, 2011

Names of Defendants:  James H. Trotter, Sr.; Sylvia Trotter; Trotter Construction Company, Inc.; Trotter Development Group, NC, LLC, and The Trotter Construction Company, Inc. 401(K) Plan located in Indianapolis, Ind.

Allegations: Trotter Construction Company, Inc. and Trotter Development Group NC LLC are owned by James Trotter. Trotter Construction sponsored the Trotter Construction Company, Inc. 401(k) Plan and welfare benefit plans which provided health, vision and dental benefits. 

ROCKFORD, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Dowe and Wagner Inc., a heating and air conditioning company in Richmond, and its co-owners, Joseph Wagner and Thomas Eppers, to restore $31,650 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.

Webcast to offer free advice on money management and saving for retirement

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration will host its first Spanish-language "Guide to Retirement Saving" webcast on June 22. The free event will be co-sponsored by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. in coordination with the National Council of La Raza.

Date of Action:  June 9, 2011

Type of Action:  Consent order and judgment

Name(s) of Defendant: Susan Joos and the Joos Electric Co. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust