Department of Labor sues Brentwood company (failing to fulfill its fiduciary duties 401k)

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/stories/2008/12/22/daily14.html

Tuesday, December 23, 2008, 10:07am CST

Nashville Business Journal

The U.S. Department of Labor has sued Midland Employer Services in Brentwood for reportedly failing to fulfill its fiduciary duties to the company’s 401(k) plan.

The actions were in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, alleges the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

The lawsuit charges that the company abandoned the plan without terminating the 401(k) and distributing its assets to eligible participants after the company closed in 2002.

That had caused participants to be unable to receive information about and access to their 401 (k) accounts, the Department of Labor says.

The suit asks the court to appoint an independent fiduciary to distribute about $190,134 to 25 participants of the Midland Employer Services Benefit Plan.

“When companies abandon their commitment to their employees, the Labor Department will act decisively on behalf of workers to protect their pension rights,” says R.C. Marshall, regional director of the department’s Employee Benefits Security Administration office in Atlanta, in a release

Midland provided employee leasing services to employers.