Ex-Thermo Fisher Worker Sues Over 401(k) Plan Forfeiture Usage

A former Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. employee filed a proposed class action saying the California-based scientific instrument maker mismanages its retirement plan by using money forfeited by workers to pay down its contribution obligations.

The lawsuit challenges how Thermo Fisher handles the forfeitures that occur when employees leave their jobs before their company-funded 401(k) contributions have vested. The plan allows these forfeited amounts to be used for paying administrative expenses, but Thermo Fisher instead uses them “solely to reduce future Company contributions to the Plan,” plaintiff Konstantina Dimou said in the complaint.

Each year between 2017 and 2022, the company ...