US Department of Labor files suit against defunct Baltimore payroll processing company for failure to remit employee contributions to 401(k) plan

Summary:

On January 8, 2024, the Acting U.S. Secretary of Labor filed a complaint against iProcess Online Inc. and its Chief Operating Officer and Human Resources Director, Michelle Leach-Bard, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland (Docket Number: 1:24-cv-00061-ABA). The complaint stems from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), which found that the company and Leach-Bard failed to remit participant and employer contributions to their 401(k) plan amounting to $192,511 from January 2014 to August 2023. The complaint seeks to restore plan losses, including lost opportunity earnings, delinquent employee and employer contributions, and lost opportunity earnings, as well as removal and a fiduciary bar against the defendants. The investigation's deputy regional director emphasized that failing to forward employee and employer contributions to a 401(k) plan violates employees' trust and denies workers the opportunity to earn interest on their investments and prepare for the future.