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Release Date: April 3, 2009
Release Number: 09-295-ATL (088)
Contact Name: Michael Wald
Phone Number: 404.562.2078
Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has
entered into a consent judgment and order with defunct Shelton and
Associates and a corporate officer to restore assets to the former
company’s pension plan.
The order follows a lawsuit filed in August 2008 in
the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina
alleging that the defendants violated provisions of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) when they failed to make required
contributions on behalf of participants in 2003 and 2004. Furthermore,
the suit alleged that the defendants abandoned the plan when the company
ceased operations in 2005.
Shelton and Associates and John C. Shelton are
required to restore to the plan $14,547 in unpaid employer contributions
plus an additional $4,875 for lost earnings on those contributions
through December 31, 2008. John C. Shelton is waiving his right to
receive contributions to his plan account for the years 2003 and 2004.
Under a separate agreement, Margaret Shelton, another
corporate officer, waived her right to receive contributions to her plan
account for 2003 and 2004 and will not be required to restore any funds
to the plan.
The court also appointed Jeanne Bryant as successor
fiduciary to terminate the plan and distribute the assets. The order
permanently bars Shelton and Associates and John C. Shelton from serving
as fiduciaries of any ERISA-covered plans.
“We are pleased that this judgment and order holds
the company and its officers to the promise that was made to plan
participants when the pension plan was created,” said R.C. Marshall,
director of the Atlanta Regional Office of the Labor Department’s
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA).
Shelton and Associates was a Greensboro, North
Carolina-based wholesale and retail supplier of shipping and packaging
materials. At the end of 2004, the plan held assets of $249,000.
This case was investigated by the EBSA’s Atlanta
Regional Office. Employers and workers can reach that office at
404.302.3900 or toll-free at 866.444.3272 for help with problems
relating to private sector retirement and health plans. For more
information, see www.dol.gov/ebsa.
Secretary of Labor v. Shelton and Associates Inc.
Civil Action File Number 1:08-cv-598
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.
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