Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is the first place winner of the General Services Administration’s annual citizen service award in recognition of its exceptional customer service to the American public. The award was announced recently during the Interagency Resources Management Conference.

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Denver – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will sponsor “Getting It Right – Know Your Fiduciary Responsibilities,” a free compliance assistance seminar, on June 10 at the Embassy Suites Denver Southeast.

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Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) will host a free web cast May 8 to help employers and plan administrators understand and comply with the Form 5500 Series reporting requirements under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

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Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment permanently barring a District of Columbia lawyer from providing advice or services to any benefit plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

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Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration today announced publication of technical corrections to the final regulation on qualified default investment alternatives along with guidance to clarify the scope and meaning of the final rule.

BOSTON — Following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor, New Jersey-based Quest Diagnostics Inc. has agreed to pay 238 employees across the country a total of $688,772 in overtime back wages due under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

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Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a second order of civil contempt against Gary Hochberg after a federal district court in Miami found that he failed to pay $75,000 to the Gary M. Hochberg CLU Insurance Agency Inc. Assumed Benefit Plan. The court ordered the defendant to be incarcerated until he complies with the order to pay $75,000. The next hearing is April 29.

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Arlington, Virginia – A free health law compliance assistance seminar for employers, plan fiduciaries and plan service providers, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) and the Virginia Department of Insurance, will take place May 14 and 15 at the Doubletree Hotel Crystal City, 300 Army Navy Drive in Arlington, Virginia.

DENVER — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit to recover $1,094,486 in back wages for 302 Denver-area employees of Aggregate Industries, WRE Inc., a subsidiary of Bardon US Corp. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Denver, resulted from an investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division that found violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

OLMS exceeds 900 indictments since 2001

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for March 2008. During the month, OLMS obtained four convictions, five indictments and court orders of restitution totaling $279,202. The office's totals for fiscal year 2008 (which began on Oct. 1, 2007) now stand at 52 convictions and 64 indictments. The bulk of the cases involved the embezzlement of union funds.

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Hartford, Connecticut – The U.S. Department of Labor has succeeded in obtaining a federal court order prohibiting the third party administrators to the retirement plans of Wasley Products Inc. in Plainville, Connecticut, from serving as fiduciaries to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in the future.

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Fenton, Michigan – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner and 401(k) plan fiduciary of Control Pak International Inc. in Fenton for improperly using 401(k) assets withheld from employees’ pay to benefit the company in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

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Troy, Michigan – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a judgment in federal district court in Detroit ordering the appointment of an independent fiduciary to terminate the 401(k) plan of Troy-based Q.E.D. Inc. and distribute its assets to participants.

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Buffalo, New York – The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to appoint an independent fiduciary to oversee the abandoned 401(k) plan of Pohlman Foundry Co. Inc. of Buffalo, New York.

DALLAS — Dallas-based Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. has entered into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to settle allegations of hiring discrimination based on race and gender and agreed to a settlement of $1.5 million.

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Chicago — The U.S. Department of Labor today sued Chicago-based AA Capital Partners Inc. and its executives for improperly causing more than $25 million in losses for five Michigan pension funds by misusing plan assets to benefit themselves and by charging the plans excessive investment management fees. The Labor Department’s suit seeks to restore all losses incurred by the plans as a result of the defendants’ improper actions.

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Washington – The first 2008 meeting of the Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council, will be held May 6 from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. EDT in the Secretary’s Conference Room, Room S-2508, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. in Washington.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will visit Livermore, Calif., to provide information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). Through town hall meetings, officials will present details about a new class of former employees of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently added to the act's Special Exposure Cohort (SEC). Officials also will be on hand to discuss Parts B and E of the EEOICPA and assist individuals with filing claims.

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Washington – U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao today announced the appointment of five new members to and new leadership for the 2008 Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans, also known as the ERISA Advisory Council.

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Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor today released a new online video to help small employers and accountants understand the various options for providing a retirement program for their employees. “Choosing a Retirement Solution for Your Small Business” introduces employers to the three most popular retirement arrangements.