Printer Friendly Version
Release Date: August 8, 2008
Release Number: 08-1127-CHI
Contact Name: Scott Allen
Phone Number: 312.353.6976
Cincinnati – The U.S. Department of Labor
has obtained a default judgment requiring Cincinnati-based Queen City
Restaurant Group and its 401(k) trustee, Vincent Bryant, to pay $46,718
to the company’s 401(k) savings plans as restitution for failing to
remit employee contributions and loan repayments owed to the plans.
The judgment, entered in the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of Ohio, resolves a Labor Department lawsuit. It
appoints AMI Benefit Plan Administrators Inc., located in Cortland,
Ohio, as independent fiduciary to administer the investment and
disbursal of the accounts of the participants and beneficiaries of the
Blue Ash Bistro and Brewery and Queen City Brewing Co. plans.
The Queen City Restaurant Group, formerly known as
Queen City Brewing Co., and Bryant violated the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act by failing to remit employee contributions to the
retirement savings plans of Queen City Restaurant Group and the Blue Ash
Bistro and Brewery, formerly known as the Watson Brothers Bistro and
Brewery. Bryant was the president and chief executive officer of the
restaurant group when the alleged improper transactions occurred. He
also failed to remit employee contributions on time between January 2001
and March 2006.
Teller’s of Hyde Park LTD, a co-defendant in the
suit, has settled with the Labor Department, and has restored $18,609 of
employee contributions and interest to its employee plan.
“The department will take appropriate legal action
when plan fiduciaries fail to carry out their duty to protect the
retirement plan assets held on behalf of participants,” said Paul
Bauman, acting director of the department’s regional office in
Cincinnati of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
Employers with similar problems who are not yet the
subjects of investigations by EBSA may be eligible to participate in the
department’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program (VFCP).
Participation in the VFCP requires employers to make workers whole but
allows them to avoid EBSA enforcement actions and civil penalties as
well as any applicable excise taxes. For more information about the VFCP,
see www.dol.gov/ebsa.
The court actions resulted from an investigation
conducted by EBSA’s Cincinnati office. Employers and workers can reach
that office at 859.578.4680 or through EBSA’s toll-free number,
866.444.3272, for help with problems relating to private sector
retirement and health plans.
In fiscal year 2007, EBSA achieved monetary results
of $1.5 billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits
for millions of American workers and their families.
Chao v. Bryant
Civil Action Number 1:06-cv-861
U.S. Department of Labor news releases are accessible on the
Department's Newsroom
page. The information in this news release will be made available
in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or
disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when
placing your request at 202.693.7828 or TTY 202.693.7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America's employers and
employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply
with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit the
Department's Compliance
Assistance page.
|