October 16, 2006

Michigan Security Guard Contractors Agree to Pay Back Wages
to 716 Workers After U.S. Department of Labor Investigation

Two Sub-Contractors of RSIG Inc. Owe more than $663,000 in Back Wages

DETROIT — Two sub-contractors of RSIG Inc. a Southfield, Mich., security company, have agreed to pay $663,813 in overtime back wages to 716 Detroit area security guards following investigations by the U.S. Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division.

October 16, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues Plan Officials for Mismanaging $50M In Assets of New York 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

New York, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the fiduciaries of the Agway Inc. 401(k) plan, in DeWitt, New York, for imprudently investing approximately $50 million of the plan’s assets in the securities of the company, valuing the stock at prices higher than market value, and giving participants false information about the investment.

October 12, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Gives Filers Affected By Hurricane Katrina Additional Extension of Deadline to File Annual Reports on Benefit Plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today advised plan practitioners affected by Hurricane Katrina who require additional time to file 2005 Form 5500 series annual returns/reports that they may request an extension of two and one-half months (to December 31, 2006).

October 10, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues Cincinnati Company for Failing to Distribute 401(k) Funds When It Went Out of Business

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Cincinnati, Ohio - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Strategic Decisions Inc. Cincinnati, for failing to administer and terminate the company’s 401(k) plan so that assets could be distributed to plan participants.

October 6, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Default Judgment Removing Fiduciary from Oakland County, Michigan Company’s 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Detroit, Michigan - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment removing the former president of now-defunct Application Technology Group Inc. (ATG), Oakland County, Michigan, as a fiduciary to the ATG 401(k) plan, and permanently barring Kenneth A. Poulos from serving as a plan fiduciary to any Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-covered employee benefit plan.

October 5, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Sues Ligonier, Pennsylvania Employer for Pension Plan Violations

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued now-defunct E.R. Caldwell Land Clearing Contractors Inc. (ERC), Ligonier, Pennsylvania, for alleged misappropriation of funds from the company’s 401(k) profit sharing plan and violations of the federal law that protects private retirement, health and other benefit plans.

October 5, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Launches Interactive Web site to Help Employers Comply with Health Benefit Laws

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced the launch of a new interactive Web site to serve as a resource for employers in complying with the various federal health benefit laws. The Health Benefits Advisor is designed to help employers and other plan officials understand their responsibilities in operating group health plans.

October 5, 2006

Judgment Clears Way for U.S. Labor Department to Return Almost $47,000 in 401(k) Funds to Bay Area Workers

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

San Francisco, California - A U.S. District Court judge has approved a default judgment against the trustees of the 401(k) plan of Promatis Corp., a defunct San Ramon, California-based company. The judgment clears the way for distribution of the plan’s assets to four eligible participants.

October 4, 2006

U.S. Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council Working Groups to Hold Teleconferences October 20

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - The three working groups of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act

(ERISA) Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans will convene by teleconference October 20 to discuss reports and recommendations to be submitted to the Secretary of Labor.

October 3, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Funds Project to Evaluate Effectiveness
of Anti-Child-Labor Efforts in the Cocoa Industry

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the funding of a $4.3 million project to oversee public and private efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector.

October 3, 2006

Stoughton, Massachusetts Dentist Restores Over $118,000 to Employee Pension Plan to Settle U.S. Labor Department Lawsuit

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Boston, Massachusetts - A Stoughton, Massachusetts dentist has restored more than $118,000 in misused assets to the profit sharing plan of the dental practice’s employees, according to a consent judgment and order obtained by the U.S. Department of Labor for alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

October 3, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Enters Settlements with Connecticut Investment Firms to Restore $8.8 Million Owed to Pension Plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

October 2, 2006

U.S. Department of Labor Sues Officers of Kalamazoo, Michigan Business To Restore Funds to Company’s Retirement Savings Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Kalamazoo, Michigan - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued M. Jack Fleming and Carol Fleming, trustees of the Merchants Publishing Co. Inc., for failing to forward employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) profit sharing plan, co-mingling plan contributions with the general operating assets of the company, and other violations of federal employee benefits law.

September 27, 2006

U.S. Labor Department Publishes Revised Rule on Union Trust Reporting

Form T-1 Improves Disclosure and Increases Union Transparency

September 27, 2006

Tyson Foods Inc. Agrees to Pay $1.5 Million in Back Pay
for Hiring Discrimination

More than 2500 Minorities and Women Benefit from U.S. Labor Department Action

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) announced today that Tyson Foods Inc., headquartered in Springdale, Ark., has entered into six consent decrees to settle findings of hiring discrimination. More than 2500 women and minorities will receive a total of $1.5 million in back pay.

September 27, 2006

Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs to Leave Post at Employee Benefit Security Administration in October

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

September 27, 2006

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Trustee for Abandoned Savings and Investment Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Detroit, Michigan - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Detroit to appoint an independent trustee for the abandoned savings and investment plan of Michigan Pumping Service Inc., Trenton, Michigan. The company ceased doing business in 2003 after being sold to a new owner.

September 26, 2006

U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao Announces Proposed Rule on Default Investment Alternatives for Participant-Directed Plans - First Pension Law Regulation Would Boost 401(k)s

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced a proposed rule to make it easier for fiduciaries of 401(k) plans and other participant-directed defined-contribution plans to adopt automatic enrollment design features. The proposed rule is the first major regulation resulting from the Pension Protection Act signed into law by President Bush on August 17, 2006.

September 25, 2006

Labor Department Sues Officer of Duluth, Minnesota Business For Failing to Administer Retirement Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Duluth, Minnesota - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the president of Arrowhead Equipment Company, Duluth, Minnesota, for failing to administer and terminate the company’s employee stock ownership plan so that assets could be distributed to plan participants.

September 21, 2006

Labor Department Awards Nearly $5 Million in Grants to Advance Self Employment Opportunities for Individuals with Disabilities

WASHINGTON —U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced grants of nearly five million dollars for pilot projects and research to develop systems models designed to increase self-employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities.