Boehringer Ingelheim Sued Over Handling of 401(k) Forfeitures

Boehringer Ingelheim USA Corp. was hit with a proposed class action challenging how the pharmaceutical company handles the unvested 401(k) contributions forfeited when workers leave their jobs after a short period.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the US District Court for the District of Connecticut, accuses Boehringer of putting more than $16 million worth of 401(k) forfeitures toward the contributions it’s required to make to its retirement plan, instead of using this money to lower workers’ expenses. This self-interested decision benefited the company at the expense of workers’ retirement savings in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, ...