Before: JOHN M. VITTONE
Chief Administrative Law Judge
DECISION AND ORDER
This case arises under the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), 29 U.S.C §
1100 etseq. and the regulations enacted thereunder
at 29 C.F.R. Parts 2560 and 2570.
On September 6, 1996, the Pension and Welfare
Benefits Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL),
issued a Notice of Intent to Assess a Penalty against BR
Holdings, Ltd. d/b/a Racine Steel Castings (Respondent) for
$840,000. DOL alleged that Respondent failed to file
satisfactory annual reports of Form 5500 as required by ERISA for
the years 1988 through 1994. In the Notice, Respondent was given
an opportunity to file a Statement of Reasonable Cause and on
October 4, 1996, Respondent filed such a Statement. On December
16, 1996, DOL issued a Notice of Determination on Statement of
Reasonable Cause. Therein, DOL waived $798,000 of the assessed
civil money penalty and decided "that there is no reasonable
cause to waive $42,000 of the penalty" against Respondent
for violating ERISA. Respondent requested a hearing before this
Office on January 17, 1997.
Pursuant to 29 C.F.R. § 2570.65, DOL and
Respondent have negotiated a settlement of all disputed claims.
On March 26, 1997, the parties filed a joint Settlement Agreement
and Stipulation for Dismissal with Order (Settlement). The
parties request review of the Settlement and an order disposing
of this proceeding. DOL has agreed to reduce the assessed civil
money penalty to $25,000 with interest. Respondent has agreed to
pay the reduced penalty as outlined in the Settlement.
Respondent states that it is now in compliance with the reporting
require-ments of ERISA. Further, the parties agreed that this
Office shall retain jurisdiction over this matter until the
financial agreement is completed. After that, this matter shall
be dismissed with prejudice.
Upon review of the record, the Settlement
Agreement and Stipulation for Dismissal with Order is APPROVED.
This agreement constitutes full and final resolution of this
matter. It is ORDERED that:
1) this order shall have the same force and effect
as an order made after full hearing;
2) the entire record on which this order is based
shall consist solely of the notice of administra-
tive determination and this Agreement;
3) any further procedural steps before this Office
are waived;
4) any rights to challenge or contest the validity
of this order entered into in accordance with
this agreement are waived; and
5) this Decision and Order is the final agency
action.
It is further ORDERED that after the
completion of the financial arrangement, this matter be DISMISSED
with prejudice.
