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Release Date: November 27, 2006
Release Number: 06-2000-PHI (EBSA 06-168)
Contact Name: Kate Dugan
Phone Number: 215.861.5101
Baltimore - The U.S. Labor Department has sued the King Tile
Co., Baltimore, Maryland, for failing to administer and terminate the
company’s 401(k) plan so that assets could be distributed to plan
participants.
“The department took legal action to ensure that the participants
received their promised benefits,” said Mabel Capolongo, director of
the department’s Philadelphia regional office of the Employee Benefits
Security Administration (EBSA).
The lawsuit alleges that the ceramic tile business, which served as
plan administrator and fiduciary, failed to take responsibility for
terminating the plan and distributing its assets to participants and
beneficiaries when the company ceased doing business in 2003.
The suit seeks to appoint an independent fiduciary to manage the
plan, terminate it and distribute the assets to eligible participants
and beneficiaries. The suit, filed in federal district court in
Baltimore, resulted from an investigation conducted by EBSA’s
Philadelphia office.
To assist workers in similar situations, the Labor Department
instituted new rules last May to facilitate a voluntary, safe and
efficient process for winding up the affairs of abandoned plans. The
rules allow financial institutions to take responsibility and distribute
the assets of 401(k) plans to affected workers and their families. The
department estimates that 1,650 such plans are abandoned each year.
Employers and workers with questions or concerns regarding their
private-sector pension and health plans can contact EBSA’s
Philadelphia office at 215.861.5300 or EBSA’s toll free number, 1.866.444.EBSA (3272). Information is also available from the agency’s
Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa.
In fiscal year 2005, EBSA achieved record monetary results of $1.7
billion related to pension, 401(k), health and other benefits for
millions of American workers and their families.
(Chao v. The King Tile Company)
Civil Action No. 1:06-cv-3062
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