Omnicom Group will pay $2.45 million to settle a lawsuit by current and former 401(k) plan participants who alleged several ERISA violations in plan management, according to a document submitted to a U.S. District Court in New York on June 23.
Plaintiffs had criticized the plan's costs and investment-option selection in a class action lawsuit that represents a consolidation of two similar complaints filed in May 2020 and July 2020. The parties had agreed to a settlement in principle in February 2023 following mediation, but they didn't describe the terms at that time.
The settlement notice, submitted by plaintiffs' attorneys, must be approved by the court in the case of In re Omnicom Group Inc. ERISA litigation.
"Defendants dispute plaintiffs' claims, deny plaintiffs' allegations, and deny that they engaged in any improper conduct," said the settlement agreement.,
The settlement "allows the parties to avoid continued and costly litigation that would deplete resources which could otherwise be used for the resolution of this action, and which might result in a recovery of less than that provided by the settlement, or no recovery at all," the document said.
The Omnicom Group Retirement Savings Plan, New York, had $4.2 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2021, according to its latest Form 5500.
