Banner Health Mismanaged 401(k) Plan, Owes Workers $2.3 Million

Banner Health owes participants in its 401(k) plan about $2.3 million, plus interest, for mismanaging the plan in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a federal judge in Colorado ruled after an eight-day trial.

Banner breached its fiduciary duties by allowing the plan to pay excessive administrative fees and failing to monitor plan fiduciaries, Judge William J. Martinez of the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled Wednesday. It also violated ERISA’s prohibited transaction rules by paying certain expenses out of plan assets, he said.

Martinez awarded the plan participants $2,349,469 in damages, plus 3.25% interest—far ...