RHINELAND, Mo. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner of defunct Lensing Earthworks Inc. of Rhineland for allegedly paying operating expenses using employee contributions to the company’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement accounts.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The current and former trustees of several retirement, health and welfare plans of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 99 in Cranston, R.I., were ordered to repay $439,755.62 to the plans as restitution for violating the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, according to a consent order and judgment obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

DOVER, Del. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued David Owen, the former president of defunct Owen Printing Dover Inc., for failure to remit employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a proposed rule to update the definition of "fiduciary" to more broadly define the term as a person who provides investment advice to plans for a fee or other compensation.

New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Beacon Associates Management Corp., Andover Associates Management Corp., Ivy Asset Management LLC, J.P. Jeanneret Associates Inc. and the principals of the four companies for causing dozens of pension, health and other employee benefit plan clients to lose hundreds of millions of dollars through investments with Bernard L. Madoff and his firm.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants today launched a new, interactive website to help small businesses select a retirement plan suitable for their employees.

The website, "Choosing A Retirement Solution for Your Small Business" – available at http://www.choosingaretirementsolution.org. – was jointly developed and is co-sponsored by the Labor Department's Employee Benefits Security Administration and the AICPA.

WASHINGTON – Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, will hold an Oct. 21 conference call with members of the media to discuss a proposed rule to amend the regulatory definition of the term “fiduciary” under section 3(21) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The proposed amendment would better reflect the current practices of investment advisers and the expectations of plan officials and participants who receive investment advice.

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans – known as the ERISA Advisory Council – will meet Nov. 3-4, at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room C-5515-1A, in Washington, D.C.

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 U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced a final rule to give the estimated 72 million participants covered by 401(k)-type retirement plans greater information regarding the fees and expenses associated with their plans in order to better manage their retirement savings.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A federal district court in Missouri has appointed the law firm of Spencer Fane Britt & Brown LLP of Overland Park, Kan., to manage the abandoned Lone Wolf Enterprises 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan, wind down the affairs of the plan and distribute its assets to eligible participants and service providers, according to a consent decree obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor.

BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts seeking the appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Accurate Paving Inc., formerly located in Medford, Mass.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the 401(k) plan of defunct Miller Agency Inc. of Shelton, Conn.

DELAWARE, Ohio – A federal district court in Columbus, Ohio, has entered a consent order and judgment requiring Carl Stover, the owner and president of Stover Industries Inc. in Delaware, Ohio, to pay $16,729 for employee contributions and lost opportunity costs to the participants and beneficiaries of the company’s 401(k) plan. The judgment is based on an investigation conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration.

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.