Archived News Release Caution: Information may be out of date.
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Release Date: 11/05/2004
Release Number: 04-2209-ATL
Contact Name: Jane Norris Gloria Della
Phone Number: 202.693.4675 202.693.8664
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GREENEVILLE, Tenn. - The U.S. Labor Department
has obtained a consent order and judgment restoring $30,000 to the 401(k)
plan of Flour City Architectural Metals, Inc., in Kingsport, Tenn., for
failure to remit employee contributions and loan repayments to the plan. |
Under
the judgment, the court also appointed Jeanne Barnes Bryant to serve as the
plan's successor administrator and trustee to manage the plan and removed John
W. Tang - the chief executive officer and chairman of the company's parent company
- as a fiduciary to the 401(k). Tang also agreed to be barred from service to any
plan for five years. |
The department
filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Greeneville, Tenn., alleging Tang violated
the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by failing to forward employee
contributions and loan repayments to the Flour City 401(k) plan for the period June
through December 2001. Tang allegedly used the plan's assets to pay the day-to-day
expenses of operating the company and its creditors. In addition, he failed to obtain
a fidelity bond as required by law. |
Flour City
Architectural Metals, a subsidiary of Flour City International, Inc., designed,
manufactured and installed curtain wall systems. The plan covered 60 participants and
had $764,212 in assets as of March 15, 2004. |
"The department will aggressively enforce the law to protect the
retirement funds of the hardworking men and women of this company," said Howard Marsh,
director of Employee Benefits Security Administration's Atlanta regional office. "Our
legal action case restores money owed to the plan to pay future benefits to these workers." |
Employers with similar problems, who are not yet the subject of an
investigation 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 case was investigated by EBSA's Atlanta regional office. In fiscal year
2004, EBSA achieved record monetary results of $3.1 billion related to the pension, 401(k),
health and other benefits of millions of American workers and their families. Employers and
workers can contact the district regional office at (404) 562-2156 or EBSA's toll-free number,
1-866-444-EBSA (3272), for help with problems relating to private-sector pension and health
plans. |
(Chao
v. Tang)
Civil Action No. 2:04-CV-353 |
U.S.
Labor Department news releases are accessible on the Internet at
www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available
in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or
disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when
placing your request at 202.693.7765 or TTY 202.693.7755. The U.S.
Department of Labor 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
www.dol.gov/compliance. |
Archived News Release Caution: Information may be out of date.
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