The Department of Labor has begun an investigation into Tribune Co.’s employee stock ownership plan, a major piece of Sam Zell’s plan to take the parent of the Los Angeles Times private in 2007, the company said in a bankruptcy court filing.

A subpoena sent March 2 to the Chicago-based media company, which also owns the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Cubs, requested “an extensive range of documents,” Tribune said in Thursday’s filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware.

The Labor Department’s investigation deals with Tribune’s employee stock ownership plan, or ESOP, as part of an investigation under the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the filing said. Under the act, the Labor Department is responsible for safeguarding pension-fund money from misappropriation.

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