Employer forcing participants to attend meeting with Vendor

[Guest jessecoates]

My wife's employer is currently in the process of terminating their money purchase plan. They have schedule "meetings" for all plan participants to attend with the investment vendor. My wife's work schedule is part time and as such all of these "meetings" they have scheduled are on the days she does not work.

So being a person who works in the pension industry I advised her to simply request the distribution election forms so we could fill them out and get her money rolled over to an IRA as I suspect these meetings were set up as an opportunity for the vendor to sit down with the plan participants and potentially retain the assets via the participant rollovers to the 403b plan that will remain in existence.

Recently she recieved notice from her HR director stating that if she did not attend one of these meetings with the vendor, that they would suspend her and withhold her pay. Immediately I said, that is right.

I am looking for some help in identifying the specific section of ERISA or DOL regulations that would constitute this action as a violation.

[PensionPro]

Are they paying her for attending the meeting? Off the top of my head I can not think of an ERISA violation.

[leevena]

I am not an attorney, labor or otherwise so there may be some others who should chime in. And keep in mind, some of this may be covered by state law too.

As a general rule of thumb, employers can require an employee to attend a meeting, even if it's during their time off. A non-exempt employee needs to be paid for their time though.

Your assumption about the meeting (opportunity for the vendor) is more than likely correct, and yes there is a somewhat incentive for them to retain the business. But you should really look at it as an opportunity to hear what they have, what if they have something better to offer?

Hope this helps.

[Guest jessecoates]

She is non-exempt and at this point we have not found out if they will pay her for the meeting.

[leevena]

She is non-exempt and at this point we have not found out if they will pay her for the meeting.

Seems to me that you have a choose between her going in for a few hours and getting paid, or risk suspension/loss of job.

[BG5150]

Is it right? No.

Illegal? I doubt it.

[MoJo]

While I'm not a labor lawyer, under various labor laws, if the meeting is mandatory for an hourly worker, I believe she must be paid. Call the Department of Labor.

Same disclaimer, under those same labor laws, withholding of pay is both a civil matter, and a criminal one. Call the Department of Labor.

The only ERISA violation (which I believe to be a labor law violation as well) is if they attempt to coerce her in the exercise of a right she has under ERISA (i.e. her distribution options upon termination of the plan). Call the Department of Labor.

Calls to the DOL can be anonymous - though under the circumstances, if there are not others in the same position as your wife, it may not be difficult for them to ascertain who called.

After calling the Department of Labor, suggest that your wife review and revise her resume....

[Guest jessecoates]

There are about 50 other employees who recieved the same notice so she is not alone. The resume is being updated anyway, she recieved notice a while ago that her job is being eliminated at the end of August.

[ESOP Guy]

There are about 50 other employees who recieved the same notice so she is not alone. The resume is being updated anyway, she recieved notice a while ago that her job is being eliminated at the end of August.

I would be practical about it. if she is losing her job anyway just go so you don't have a hassle in getting the money out and so forth. Why lose one's job early maybe give them grounds to fight unemployment benefits so forth?

Some times it really is best to "pick your battles" as they say. And this just doesn't sound like a battle worth fighting.

[masteff]

Some times it really is best to "pick your battles" as they say. And this just doesn't sound like a battle worth fighting.

Ditto. Jump thru the hoops to keep a good reference.

Especially since she's been notified in writing that failure to attend will result in suspension, unless they're grossly violating their own policies and procedures or if your wife is working under an employment contract that says otherwise, they can do such.

[david rigby]

There is no harm in asking why it's important for her to attend.

If the response is "because I said so", that tells you all you need to know about the future.

[MoJo]

While I don't disagree with ESOPguy and masteff, it really ticks me off when employers do such things. Attend the session, then call the DOL and report them for not paying for the time.

[KJohnson]

If the vendor is the current investment provider to the terminating plan you might want to google "capturing rollovers" and look at some of the articles. I think there was a pretty detailed one by Fred Reish last year. Also search for GAO Report: "Labor and IRS Could Improve the Rollover Process for Participants" that also raise issues in this area of capturing rollovers.