UrbanBaby - I need advice...the company I am working...

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I need advice...the company I am working for has taken money out of my paycheck for my 401K but held it for over 2 months before depositing it. They also have not made any of their matches in 4 months. Lastly, they have me vested incorrectly at a much lower % than where I should be, giving them access to 40% they should not have access to. I have already called the Dept of Labor. Where do I go next? TIA
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08.11.09, 08:29 AM [ Flag ]
- ..an attorney.
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  08.11.09, 08:34 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- Is this the first time this has happened? Is it happening only to you, or is it company-wide? You will probably need to hire an attorney and sue for proper handling of your money, back interest, court costs and attorneys' fees, although, once you get an attorney involved, it can probably be accomplished with a well-worded letter that details the exact amounts the company owes you. Check with your co-workers to find out if they are also being stolen from, and if they are, you can all use one lawyer in a collective suit.
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  08.11.09, 08:38 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- attorney. the faster the better.
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  08.11.09, 08:44 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- Contact the local enforcement office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration
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  08.11.09, 08:45 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- Do you know any auditors who work for CPA firms? It's possible that these very skeevy practices, while unfair, are technically legal according to state & federal regs, and your options are to like it or don't. If the matching is voluntary, even if promised to you, they may be allowed to wait to make the match until it's convenient for them. And state or federal regs may give them 90 days or some other arbitrary amount of time to deposit your contributions depending on company size. An employment attorney or CPA/auditor will know the rules & regs and be able to tell you if the company is doing something illegal or just intolerable. If it's not illegal, your best bet is to start looking for another job, and in the mean time, do impeccable work so that at your next review, you can ask for a significant raise to make up for the amounts you have lost through the company's actions.
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  08.11.09, 08:51 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- have you talked to the admin at your company directly? a lot may be explained that way. and it's free to make that call. don't be defensive, just explain that you're trying to understand the 401k program, and get them to explain it to you.
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  08.11.09, 08:58 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- is it a public company? regulated by any industry organization?
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  08.11.09, 09:09 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
- I agree with the suggestions above about contacting your local EBSA office (not sure if that was who you previously contacted w/ the DOL) and an employment attorney. If your plan has an independent investment manager/administrator I'd trying contacting them as well. Also, if it's possible to suspend your future contributions to the plan I'd strongly suggest doing that ASAP. I'm not an ERISA expert, but I'm pretty sure commingling the employee contributions for 60+ days is an ERISA violation and the other facts you mention don't sound great either. Is your company struggling financially?
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  08.11.09, 09:25 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]
  - Op here - thanks all. It is happening to everyone. There have been issues in the past that are a variation of this one. I have called EBSA and am waiting to hear back. The HR department is ignoring us pretty much with canned responses. And it seems clear at this point the company is struggling...look like I will make some calls to laywer and CPA friends
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    08.12.09, 06:52 AM [ Flag | link to this post ]