7/15/2008

Warren Merrill said Tuesday he had no idea he was being sued for failing for forward employee money to his former company’s 401(k) and medical plans while he owned B&W Electrical Contractors, Salina.

The U.S. Department of Labor Tuesday announced that it filed suit in the federal court in Topeka against Warren Merrill and his son, Jeffrey Merrill, for failure to forward $22,670 in employee contributions to the 401(k) plan and $7,585 in premiums to the health care plan between May and August 2005.

The suit aims to force the Merrills to make the payments.

Labor Department spokesman Brad Mitchell said the government has “corresponded with Warren and Jeffery Merrill on the this matter, as well as their attorney (George Yarnevich),” for more than two years.

Yarnevich, a Salina attorney, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

“Maybe George has just been handling it,” Warren Merrill said.