Compliance January 30, 2006

EBSA Achieves $1.7 Billion in Enforcement Actions Results

January 30, 2006 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) achieved $1.7 billion in results from actions to enforce the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) during fiscal year 2005.
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A Department of Labor (DoL) press release, said this is the second highest annual result in the agency’s history.   The record was set by fiscal year 2004 results (See  EBSA Sees Large Increase in Enforcement Action).

Included in the $1.7 billion is $709 million in assets restored to plans and benefits recovered for individual workers – an increase of nearly 120% over FY 2004, according to the release.   Also, EBSA’s Benefits Advisors handled nearly 160,000 inquiries and recovered a record $88.4 million in benefits on behalf of workers and their families through informal resolution of individual complaints.

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EBSA closed 3,782 civil investigations in 2005, with 2,862 (75.67%) resulting in monetary results for plans or other corrective action.   In addition, 196 criminal investigations were closed, and the agency achieved a 13% increase in the number of criminal investigations closed with either a guilty plea or a criminal conviction.   EBSA’s criminal investigations, as well as its participation in criminal investigations with other law enforcement agencies, led to the indictment of 106 individuals – including plan officials, corporate officers, and service providers – for offenses related to employee benefit plans.

In   2005, EBSA received 985 applications for the Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program – a 108% increase over 2004.   Applicants restored $7.4 million in assets to employee benefit plans through this program.

More information can be found at  http://www.dol.gov/ebsa .

Benefits January 27, 2006

Survey: Outsider Most Often Workplace Violence Perpetrators

January 27, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Customers, clients, and patients are most often the wrongdoers when it comes to committing violent acts on the nearly half of US workers who fall victim to this problem, a new survey found.
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The survey found that more than 40% of American workers reported being the victims of psychological aggression, including being screamed at, insulted, or threatened with physical violence, according to a HealthDay News report. About 6% of workers said they’ve been slapped, kicked or attacked with a weapon. Nearly all (96%) of workers who suffered physical violence also reported some form of psychological abuse.

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Nearly 25% of workers surveyed said they were victims of aggression from customers, clients, patients or other members of the public, 15% said they’d experienced aggression from co-workers, and 13% reported that their bosses or supervisors were the culprits.

“Forty-seven million Americans experience psychological or physical aggression while on the job. Interestingly, workers pinpoint the general public as the most significant source of this aggression, as opposed to other co-workers or supervisors,” researcher Aaron Schat, assistant professor at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University in Canada, said in a prepared statement. “Exposure to aggressive behavior at work is associated with a wide range of negative consequences for individuals and organizations, including negative work attitudes, reduced well-being, and, in cases of physical violence, bodily injury or death.”

The survey findings are included in the Handbook of Workplace Violence, which will be published in February.

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