Legal Question in Employment Law in Alabama
SEP retirement account payment not being made
I worked for a small, privately owned company from January 2nd until the end of April. In my contract it was stated that a payment would be made by the company on my behalf into a SEP retirment account at the end of the year. I began contacting the president of the company in October to provide the SEP account information to them. I have also forwarded a letter via registered mail to no avail. I am being blown off. Here are my questions:
1) How do I determine if the company made any profits so that they could make a deposit?
2) It is required by law that they deposit the same percentage of each employees salary. How do I confirm this percentage?
3) What would be the most logical step to take - small claims court or hire a lawyer?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: SEP retirement account payment not being made
Retirement issues are governed by a very complicated federal law known as ERISA (Employment Retirement Income Security Act). This matter cannot be done in small claims court in a local state court - they have no jurisdiction over these types of cases. Even though the case may seem very small to you, it might be a very serious case and I would be very interested in talking to you further about it at no charge to you. Please give me a call as soon as possible at 205-458-1100.
Sincerely,
Sterling L. DeRamus
Attorney at Law
2015 First Avenue North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
205-458-1100