December 22, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor sues to protect participants of defunct New Jersey company’s employee benefit plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Philadelphia — The U.S. Department of Labor has sued to obtain appointment of an independent fiduciary to oversee the 401(k) plan of C.R. Warner Inc., a defunct New Jersey company.

“We filed this case to ensure that the plan participants were able to recoup their retirement savings,” said Mabel Capolongo, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) in Philadelphia.

December 22, 2008

U.S. Labor Department obtains default judgment against West Chester, Pennsylvania, company to protect participants of abandoned retirement plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Pittsburgh – The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a default judgment removing West Chester, Pennsylvania-based Five Star Industrial Services Inc. as fiduciary of the company’s 401(k) profit-sharing plan and appointing Metro Benefits Inc. to be the plan’s independent fiduciary.

December 19, 2008

Chicago contractor indicted for stealing from union employee benefit plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Chicago - On Thursday December 18 a federal grand jury in Chicago, Illinois, indicted Beny Garneata for embezzlement and false statements related to the employee benefit plans of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers’ Union Local 130 and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union Local 134.

December 17, 2008

U.S. Labor Departments Office of Labor-Management Standards continues fiscal year with strong results

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) today announced its criminal enforcement data for November 2008. During the month, OLMS obtained five convictions and eight indictments, and payments or orders of restitution totaled more than $891,000. The office's November results bring its totals for fiscal year 2009, which began on Oct. 1, 2008, to 18 indictments, 15 convictions and payments or orders of restitution of $1,516,522. The bulk of the cases involved the embezzlement of union funds.

December 17, 2008

U.S. Labor Department publishes 2008 Form M-1 for multiple employer welfare arrangements

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced the availability of the 2008 Form M-1 annual report for multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs). Plan administrators may use EBSA’s online filing system to expedite processing of the form.

December 16, 2008

Labor Department seeks federal court judgment ordering distribution of 401(k) assets of Shaker Heights, Ohio business

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

Shaker Heights, Ohio - The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court, Cleveland, requesting the appointment of an independent fiduciary to terminate the FFS Inc. 401(k) retirement plan and to distribute plan assets to the participants.

December 10, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues president of Emergency Consultants Inc. to recover 401(k) assets

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

Traverse City, Michigan – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the president and fiduciary of the 401(k) plan of Emergency Consultants Inc., Traverse City, for failing to forward contributions to the plan as soon as reasonably feasible, in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

December 3, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor sues defunct Atlanta software consulting company to protect 401(k) plan participants

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

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has sued Computer Consulting Services Corp. in Atlanta and two fiduciaries to recover assets on behalf of the company’s 401(k) plan participants.

December 2, 2008

Dedham, Mass., temp placement company agrees to pay 973 employees more than $1.8 million in back wages to resolve U.S. Labor Department lawsuit

BOSTON — 888 Consulting Group Inc., a Dedham, Mass., temporary employee placement company doing business as TAC Worldwide, has agreed to pay 973 employees across the country a total of $1,866,943 in overtime back wages to resolve a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

"We are very pleased that the department has succeeded in securing more than $1.8 million in back wages for these workers who were not properly paid for overtime," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

November 26, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor sues Bismarck, North Dakota, company and owners over delinquent 401(k) contributions

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

Bismarck, North Dakota – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued LAS International of Bismarck and its owners for failing to forward $39,866.18 in delinquent employee and employer contributions, and to timely remit employee contributions and loan repayment to the company’s 401(k) retirement savings plan.

November 25, 2008

Employee Benefits Security Administration issues guidance on fidelity bonding for employee benefit plans

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

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today released Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2008-04, which provides guidance to the agency’s national and regional offices on the fidelity bonding requirements under section 412 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

November 25, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues fiduciary of Frankfort, Ill.-based company to recover 401(k) assets

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

FRANKFORT, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued the owner and 401(k) plan fiduciary of J&L Electronic Service Inc. for improperly using 401(k) contributions deducted from employees' paychecks to benefit the company in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

November 25, 2008

U.S. Labor Department releases advance copies of 2008 Form 5500 annual report

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

Washington – The U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. today released advance informational copies of the 2008 Form 5500 annual return/report and related instructions.

November 21, 2008

Officials from United States, Dominican Republic, Central America meet to discuss DR-CAFTA Labor Chapter

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Officials from the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic today held the first meeting of the Labor Affairs Council established under the Dominican RepublicCentral AmericaUnited States Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).

The council is responsible for overseeing the implementation of, and for reviewing progress under, the Labor Chapter of the DR-CAFTA, including the activities of the Labor Cooperation and Capacity Building Mechanism established under the Labor Chapter.

November 21, 2008

Owner of defunct North Carolina sign company pleads guilty to embezzlement of 401(k) and health plan assets

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

Atlanta — The owner of defunct Wesco Signs Inc., Concord, North Carolina, pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina in Greensboro to two counts of embezzlement of assets from the company’s 401(k) and health plans.

November 20, 2008

U.S. Labor Department secures more than $1.5 million in back wages
for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita workers

NEW ORLEANS — Ceres Environmental Services Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., has agreed to pay $1,500,718 in back wages to 2,256 former debris removal workers. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division found that these workers were not properly paid for work they performed throughout Louisiana in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita as required by the Service Contract Act (SCA) and the Contract Work Hours Safety Standards Act (CWHSSA). The workers were employed by 266 subcontractors of Ceres.

November 20, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor sues North Carolina health provider to restore funds to employees’ pension plan

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

Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has sued current and former fiduciaries of the money purchase pension plan of Vance-Warren Comprehensive Health Plan Inc. of Manson, North Carolina, to restore more than $120,000 in employer contributions and interest owed to the company’s pension plan.

November 19, 2008

U.S. Labor Departments Office of Labor-Management Standards
begins fiscal year with strong results

Enforcement agency announces 10 criminal convictions and 9 indictments for October 2008

November 19, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor partners with U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs on National Resource Directory for wounded warriors

Web-based compilation of more than 10,000 listings designed to aid transition to civilian life

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor has joined with the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to launch a Web-based National Resource Directory to help wounded warriors identify resources available to assist them in transitioning back to civilian life.

November 19, 2008

U.S. Labor Department to sponsor free Bay Area workshops on complying with federal pension law

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

San Francisco – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits and Security Administration (EBSA) will hold free, half-day workshops on December 8, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. PST, to help employers, the employee benefit community and others better comply with federal pension law. The workshops will be held at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building, 1301 Clay St., 5th Floor North Tower, Conference Room H, Oakland, California.