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Release Date: June 9, 2008
Release Number: 08-640-ATL (127)
Contact Name: Michael Wald
Phone Number: 404.562.2076
Atlanta – The U.S. Department of Labor has
obtained a settlement agreement requiring defunct BDH Clinical Research
Services Inc., Rougemont, North Carolina, and its former president to
restore $22,921 to the retirement accounts of four former employees.
“These employees counted on this money to pay their
future retirement benefits,” said Rebecca Marshall, director of the
Atlanta Regional Office of the department’s Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA). “The defendants in this case violated their
fiduciary duty of trust by diverting the money for other uses.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Basil Halliday and
BDH Clinical Research Services Inc. will restore to the BDH Clinical
Research Services Inc. SIMPLE IRA plan the contributions owed to four
participants that was diverted from their retirement accounts for the
benefit of the corporation. Halliday and BDH Clinical Research Services
also agreed not to serve as fiduciaries in the future to any plan
governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
A Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE)
is an individual retirement arrangement (IRA) that allows employers and
employees to make contributions to a traditional IRA. The arrangement is
suited for small employers who do not currently sponsor a retirement
plan. BDH Clinical Research Services, located near Durham, North
Carolina, was a research consulting firm until it ceased operations.
Employers with similar problems who are not yet
subjects of EBSA investigations may be eligible to participate in the
department’s Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program. Participation
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, visit www.dol.gov/ebsa.
Employers and workers can reach EBSA’s Atlanta
Regional Office at 404.302.3900 or toll-free at 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. BDH Clinical Research Services
Civil Action Number 1:07-cv-00420
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