May 8, 2008

Xenia, Ohio, woman indicted for theft from Quality Caulking Inc. retirement plan

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Xenia, Ohio – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) today announced that a Greene County grand jury in Xenia has indicted Julie Anders on two counts of theft of employee benefit assets from the retirement plan of the local company Quality Caulking Inc.

May 7, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor improves energy employees Web pages by adding information about occupational diseases to listing of toxic substances

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that it has added to its Web site information about occupational diseases associated with toxic substances found at facilities covered under Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).

May 7, 2008

Massachusetts employer agrees to restore employee contributions to 401(k) plan to resolve U.S. Labor Department lawsuit

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

Boston – David M. Hirsch, owner and president of Adventure World Inc. in Shirley, Massachusetts, has agreed to restore $5,856 to the company’s 401(k) plan to settle a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Labor alleging he violated his duty as a trustee under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

May 5, 2008

U.S. Labor Department team receives first annual citizen service award

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.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

May 5, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sponsors free compliance assistance seminar for retirement plan fiduciaries in Denver

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

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.

May 1, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor to host May 8 web cast on form 5500 reporting requirements

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

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).

April 30, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor obtains judgment barring D.C. attorney from advising or serving employee benefit plans

Archived News Release — Caution: Information may be out of date.

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).

April 29, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor issues guidance and technical corrections to default investment alternatives regulation

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

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.

April 28, 2008

U.S. Labor Department secures more than $688,000 in overtime back wages for 238 employees of Quest Diagnostics Inc. nationwide

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).

April 28, 2008

U.S. Labor Department obtains civil contempt order against Gary Hochberg for failing to comply with order to restore pension plan funds

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

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.

April 28, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor to offer free health law seminar May 14 and 15 in Arlington, Virginia

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

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.

April 21, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor files suit against Aggregate Industries to recover more than $1 million in back wages due 302 Denver-area workers

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).

April 21, 2008

U.S. Labor Department enforcement agency announces four criminal convictions for March 2008

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.

April 18, 2008

Federal court bars former administrators of Plainville, Connecticut pension plans from future service to employee benefit plans

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

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.

April 17, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues fiduciary of Fenton, Michigan company to recover 401(k) assets

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

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).

April 14, 2008

U.S. Labor Department obtains federal court judgment ordering distribution of 401(k) assets of Q.E.D. Inc. of Troy, Michigan

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

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.

April 14, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues to appoint independent fiduciary for 401(k) plan abandoned by Buffalo, New York company

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

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.

April 11, 2008

U.S. Labor Department to assist nuclear weapons workers in Livermore, Calif.

DALLASDallas-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.

April 11, 2008

U.S. Labor Department sues Chicago investment firm and executives to recover more than $25 million for five Michigan union pension plans

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

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.

April 10, 2008

ERISA Advisory Council to hold first meeting of 2008

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

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.