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Release Date: 03/03/2000 Release
Number:V-117 Contact Name: Sharon Morrissey Phone Number:
202.219.8921 |
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The U.S. Department of Labor has obtained a
consent order and judgment from two Minneapolis-based companies and their
retirement plan official requiring the repayment of $7,114.46 to the retirement
savings plan sponsored by Metal Master of Minneapolis, Inc and JRS Enterprises,
Inc. The corporate defendants also were permanently barred from violating the
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). |
Specifically, Metal Masters was ordered to pay the
plan $3,638.26 and JRS Enterprises Inc. $3,773.20, with the amounts to be
credited individually to participant accounts of seven employees, who are named
in the court document. The retirement savings plan trustee Janet Sandburg
Bjornstad recently died, and her husband Steven Bjornstad signed the Labor
Department settlement on behalf of her estate. |
The action resulted from a lawsuit filed by the
Labor Department in April 1999. Allegedly, voluntary employee contributions
were withheld from their paychecks and were not remitted to the plan in a
timely fashion or at all. The lawsuit further alleged that the monies intended
for the savings plan were retained in the companies general asset
fund. |
Metal Masters, incorporated in 1964, originally
made gears but now does turning, milling and precision machining. JRS, which
overhauls World War II airplanes, is headquartered with Metal Masters; and
Bjornstad served both companies as chief executive officer. The companies
established the participant-directed defined contribution plan on May 2, 1990,
to provide retirement, death and disability benefits to their employees. The
plan had $133,481 in assets and 13 participants as of Dec. 31, 1996. |
The lawsuit resulted from an investigation
conducted by the Kansas City Regional Office of the departments Pension
and Welfare Benefits Administration into alleged violations of the ERISA. The
consent order and judgment were entered March 2 in federal district court in
Minneapolis. |
(Herman v. Metal Masters of Minneapolis,
Inc..) Civil Action No. 99-CV-632 |
U.S. Department of
Labor news releases are accessible on the Internet. The information in this
news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large
print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the Central Office for Assistive
Services and Technology. Please specify which news release when placing your
request. Call 202.693.7773 or TTY 202.693.7775. |
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Archived News Release Caution: Information may be out of date.
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