Regulators Sue Over Unpaid Cafeteria Plan Claims

Starkey does not appear to have a current telephone listing in the Memphis area and could not immediately be reached for comment.

International Staff Management provided health benefits for about 94 participants under a reinsurance arrangement that was administered by an outside benefits administrator. That administrator's insurer defaulted on benefit claims, and another administrator took over in May 1999, the Labor Department says

"From May 1999 until the plan was terminated, the plan operated without stop-loss insurance and contribution rates created or approved by the defendant were not adequate to pay claims," the Labor Department says in the notice about the suit.

The suit seeks a court order that would require the defendant to restore any losses with interest. The suit also asks the court to appoint an independent fiduciary to administer the plan and permanently bar the defendant from serving any employee benefit plan governed by ERISA in the future.