Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced the publication of a notice withdrawing the final rule on the provision of investment advice under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act's prohibited transaction provisions. The regulatory action is expected to be published in the Nov. 20 edition of the Federal Register.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced publication of a notice further extending the applicability and effective dates of the final rule on investment advice under the Pension Protection Act to May 17, 2010. The notice is expected to be published in the November 17 edition of the Federal Register.

Marietta – The Superior Court of Cobb County Georgia in Marietta has sentenced the owner of the Hoyla Insurance Group to serve five years in prison, to be followed by 15 years of probation, after his plea of guilty to 19 counts of theft, including theft of $65,000 from the company's 401(k) plan.

Boston — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of Autolines Inc., a company formerly located in Whitman, Massachusetts.

Kearneysville, West Virginia – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed an adversary complaint in federal bankruptcy court against Sherry Hill, part owner of now defunct Stinger Sheet Metal, Inc., to prevent her from discharging an alleged debt of $63, 347 owed to the company’s SIMPLE IRA employee benefit plan.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – Caribbean International News Corp. has been ordered by a federal court to restore more than $1.2 million to the El Vocero de Puerto Rico Union Employees Savings and Investment Plan, a retirement plan established for the benefit of the company’s unionized employees. The corporation does business as El Vocero de Puerto Rico, a newspaper based in San Juan.

San Francisco — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court order permanently barring Raymond Palombo of Riverside, California, from serving in a fiduciary or service provider capacity to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Palombo and other defendants were sued by the department when they left thousands of workers and their families in Arizona, Georgia, Illinois, Texas and other states with unpaid health claims.

Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment and order recovering more than $25,000 owed to the Benes Communications Inc. 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan. The plan was sponsored by the now defunct Michael Benes Communications Inc. of Lexington, Massachusetts, and was controlled by Robert Feige, who was the president, treasurer, secretary, director and majority owner of Benes Communications.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will host a free webcast November 5 to help employers, plan administrators and service providers prepare for changes to the Form 5500 and electronic filing requirement that begin with the 2009 plan year filings.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released additional guidance to help plan administrators and service providers comply with the expanded requirements for reporting service provider fee and compensation information on the Form 5500 Annual Returns/Reports. The expanded requirements apply for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2009.

Mokena, Illinois – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment in federal district court in Chicago requiring the plan fiduciary of the TMG National Holdings retirement plan to restore $4,110.80 to the plan for improperly using plan assets to benefit the company.

Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a federal court order appointing an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of defunct Boston-based Clearway Technologies LLC.

Orlando, Florida – Bichler and Kelley P.A. and two individuals, the law firm’s director and office manager, have agreed to terminate the firm’s savings incentive match plan for employees individual retirement account (SIMPLE IRA) plan and distribute the assets to participants as part of a federal district court’s consent judgment and order.

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

Cherry Hill, N.J. – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit to obtain appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the 401(k) plan of ABC Wireless Inc., a defunct company formerly located in Cherry Hill.

"Jeopardizing workers' retirement savings will not be tolerated by the Labor Department," said Mabel Capolongo, director of the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Philadelphia. "Employers cannot abandon 401(k) plans when a company goes out of business."

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced a proposed exemption that, if granted, would allow the New Chrysler Corp. to transfer approximately $4.59 billion promissory note and company securities to a Voluntary Employees Benefit Association (VEBA) Plan established to provide health benefits for the company's retirees. The retiree health plan would cover about 120,000 retirees and dependents when it becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2010.

Individuals’ genetic information will have greater protections through new regulations issued today by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and the Treasury.

The interim final rule will help ensure that genetic information is not used adversely in determining health care coverage and will encourage more individuals to participate in genetic testing, which can help better identify and prevent certain illnesses.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a consent judgment requiring NFL player Michael D. Vick and his company, MV7 LLC, to repay at least $416,461.10 in restitution to a pension plan sponsored by the company and ordering Vick to forfeit any rights to benefits from the plan. The defendants also agreed to pay a civil monetary penalty imposed by the Labor Department.

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has obtained a consent judgment allowing Abby Paschal to continue as a fiduciary in order to terminate the ZNET Financial Services’ 401(k) plan and distribute its assets to participants.

Boston – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the former chief executive officer of defunct F & F Industries Inc., formerly of Centerbrook, Connecticut, for alleged misuse of approximately $63,800 of assets of the company’s 401(k) plan and for failure to collect more than $81,000 in employer contributions for employees who worked on jobs covered by the Connecticut state prevailing wage laws.