Lawsuit against Wisconsin Company Stems from Alleged ERISA Benefits Violations

Janesville, WIA Department of Labor lawsuit against a Janesville, Wisconsin company is reportedly the result of an investigation into alleged violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), according to the Janesville Gazette.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">The department has filed the lawsuit against Premier Vending and its president, accusing the company of using employee retirement contributions for itself, according to the news source.

The department has asked the firm and co-owner David Biggerstaff to restore $26,163.50 plus interest in contributions to the company's 401(k) plan, the lawsuit states. The suit was filed recently in US District Court in Madison, Wisconsin.

According to the suit, Biggerstaff and the company allegedly did not put employee contributions into the plan from October 26, 2007, through January 30, 2009. The money was instead added to the company's general account and was used to pay some expenses, according to the lawsuit.

ERISA is a federal law that "sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established pension and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans," according to the Department of Labor's Web site.