June 21, 2005

Labor Department Obtains Court Judgment Restoring More Than $12,900 to 401(k) Plan of Illinois Home Builder

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Chicago, Illinois - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a court judgment requiring Lord & Essex Homes Inc., an Aurora, Illinois, home builder, and the trustee of the company’s 401(k) plan to restore $12,907.33 as restitution for failure to forward employee contributions and loan repayments to the plan.

June 20, 2005

Settlement Restores Funds to Fort Wayne, Indiana, 401(k) Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Fort Wayne, Indiana - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a settlement requiring CCS Inc. to restore $29,362.45 to its 401(k) plan. The consent order also permanently bars two of the Fort Wayne company’s plan trustees from serving as fiduciaries to employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

June 20, 2005

ERISA Advisory Council Sets July 2005 Meetings

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

WASHINGTON – The Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans and its three working groups will meet July 6-8 at the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C.

June 15, 2005

Dallas Audio/Video Producers Sued To Restore Delinquent Employee Contributions to Pension Fund

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Dallas, Texas - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued executives of defunct Intelecon Services Inc., Dallas, Texas, to recover delinquent employee contributions and loan repayments owed to the 401(k) plan.

June 13, 2005

Labor Department Program Places More Than 300 Students, Graduates with Disabilities in Summer Jobs

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Labor's Workforce Recruitment Program has placed more than 300 qualified college students and recent graduates with disabilities in summer positions. The placements were made using a free database of more than 1,900 candidates seeking summer and full-time employment. The database was distributed on a CD-Rom beginning March 16.

June 13, 2005

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary For Abandoned Retirement Plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Boston, Massachusetts - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Lauriat’s Incorporated, a former Boston-area bookstore chain, to obtain court appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage the defunct company’s abandoned retirement plan. The suit was filed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

June 10, 2005

Labor Department Testifies on Enforcement of Employee Benefits Law

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

June 7, 2005

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary for Abandoned Massachusetts 401(k) Plan

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

Boston, Massachusetts - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to obtain court appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of now-defunct Marcel French Salon. The company did business in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, as Ambiance.

June 6, 2005

Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary For Abandoned 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 under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to obtain court appointment of an independent fiduciary to manage the abandoned 401(k) plan of J. Michael Bloom & Associates Ltd. of New York City. The suit also asks to distribute $95,422 to eligible participants and to terminate the plan.

June 6, 2005

Labor Department Sues Defunct Rochester, New York Firm and Owner To Recover Delinquent Employee Contributions

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

New York, New York - The U.S. Department of Labor sued Project Solutions of Rochester Inc. and its owner for failure to forward $37,932.14 in employee contributions owed to the company’s 401(k) SIMPLE plan.

June 6, 2005

Labor Department Sues Bay Area Engineering Firm to Restore $134,000 Owed to 401(k) Plan

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

San Francisco, California - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued a South San Francisco-based engineering consulting firm, GKO & Associates Inc, and its president for misusing employee 401(k) contributions to pay corporate expenses.

June 2, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Settlement with Morris, Illinois, Executive to Restore Funds to Workers’ Retirement Program

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

Chicago, Illinois - The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a settlement permanently barring the president of Bimet Corporation of Morris, Illinois, from serving as a fiduciary for employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and requiring restoration of $10,950.61 to the company’s 401 (k) and profit sharing plan.

June 1, 2005

U.S. Department of Labor and Securities and Exchange Commission Issue Guidance Addressing Potential Conflicts of Interest of Pension Consultants

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

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today published tips to assist fiduciaries of employee benefit plans in reviewing conflicts of interest of pension consultants.

May 31, 2005

Deadline for 2005 New Freedom Initiative Award Nominations Extended to June 6

WASHINGTON—The deadline for nominations for the 2005 Secretary of Labor's New Freedom Initiative award has been extended to June 6. The award honors non-profits, small businesses, corporations and individuals for advancing the employment and workplace environment of people with disabilities.

May 31, 2005

U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs Commends GAO Report On Pension Funding Rules

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

Washington, DC - U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor Ann L. Combs today released the following statement on the report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on weaknesses in the pension funding rules:

May 27, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Default Judgment Restoring Assets To Pay Retirement Benefits to Employees of Minnesota Company

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

Minneapolis, Minnesota - The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a default judgment requiring the chief executive officer of The Lampland Company Inc., Rochester, Minnesota, to restore $3,756 to the company’s SIMPLE IRA plan as restitution for failure to forward to the plan contributions withheld from employees’ paychecks.

May 26, 2005

U. S. Labor Department Announces Interim Final Regulations for
Energy Workers Compensation Program

Meets Congressional Deadline for Issuing Regulations

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced today that the Department of Labor (DOL) has met the deadline to establish regulations for the newly created Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

May 26, 2005

Labor Department Sues Officer of Michigan Business To Restore Lost Interest to Company’s 401(k) Plan

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

Detroit, Michigan - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued an executive of The International Group, Sterling Heights, Michigan, for failing to forward employee contributions to the company’s 401(k) plan in a timely manner, to segregate plan contributions from the general operating assets of the now defunct company, and to insure that required distributions were made to plan participants.

May 25, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Seeks Independent Fiduciary For Abandoned Wilmington 401 (k) Plan

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

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The U.S. Department of Labor has sued to remove the Mary Cole Industrial Services, Inc. as fiduciary of the company’s 401(k) plan and seeks the appointment of an independent fiduciary to terminate the plan and distribute its assets. The defunct Wilmington, Delaware company ceased operations in 2001.

May 24, 2005

U.S. Labor Department Obtains Court Order Restoring Benefits to Participants of Hillsborough, N.C., Company’s 401(k) Plan

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

Atlanta, Georgia - The U.S. Labor Department obtained a default judgment ordering the restoration of more than $4,300 to the Matlack Medical Imaging 401(k) plan, Hillsborough, North Carolina.

“This case sends a clear message that the Labor Department will hold accountable those who are entrusted with employee contributions to benefit plans,” said Howard Marsh, Atlanta regional director of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).