Smith & Nephew 401(k) Plan Challenge Stumbles in Massachusetts

Smith & Nephew Inc. got a partial win in a dispute over its employees’ 401(k) plan, when a federal magistrate judge recommended that key allegations against the medical technology company be dismissed.

The employees didn’t show how they’d been harmed by the company’s alleged practice of using 401(k) plan forfeitures to pay excessive administrative fees and to cover mandatory employer contributions, Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal said. These claims are based on the idea that this money instead could have been redistributed to workers’ accounts or otherwise used to benefit them, but that’s not permissible under the plan’s written terms, ...