Electrical. Insurance. Trustees. Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan for Communication Participants

Transcription

1 Electrical Insurance Trustees Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan for Communication Participants

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3 Important Information Working as a communication employee under the principal agreement between the Electrical Contractors Association of the City of Chicago and Local Union 134 I.B.E.W. provides you with important financial benefits, including benefits under the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan ( SUB Plan ). The SUB Plan provides income during times when you are not working. This booklet will help you to understand these benefits so you can use them to your best advantage. Benefits from the SUB Plan are contingent upon the continuation of the SUB Plan by the Trustees and upon the financial adequacy of your individual account to which employer contributions are made. Additionally, the Trustees have complete, total and unrestricted discretion and authority to commence, modify and terminate benefit payments from the SUB Plan and to determine the weekly benefit rates under the SUB Plan. The SUB Plan is financed by payments made by the participating employers to the Electrical Contractors Association and Local Union 134 I.B.E.W. Trust Fund ( Trust Fund ). This is a Summary Plan Description of the benefits available as of July 1, 2006 to participants in the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan. This document (and any future amendments to it) also serves as the official SUB Plan document. Additional information is available from the Fund Office. You may examine copies of the applicable collective bargaining agreement and other related documents at the Fund Office.

4 Contents Page About Your Benefits SUB Plan Benefits About Eligibility SUB Plan Keeping Your Eligibility for SUB Plan Benefits How Your Benefits Are Paid Unemployment When Benefits Stop Right of Reimbursement Taxes on Your SUB Plan Benefits Applying for Benefits If Your Application for SUB Plan Benefits Is Denied What Else Is Important? Benefits from Other Plans Work Stoppages Assignment of Benefits Plan Administration Your Legal Rights Eligibility Provisions and Claims Procedure

5 About Your Benefits SUB Plan Benefits The Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan provides eligible participants with extra income during layoff. Subject to the satisfaction of the eligibility requirements, your SUB Plan benefits will begin after the seventh consecutive day of your layoff and continue for up to 52 weeks. The entire cost of the SUB Plan is paid by participating employers through contributions to the Trust Fund. About Eligibilty SUB Plan You become eligible for SUB Plan benefits by accumulating at least 1,040 contributed hours within the most recent four full contribution quarters prior to your layoff date. Calendar Quarter Hours Worked April June 80 July September 400 October December 560 January March 320 Total 1,360 According to this table, you would become eligible for SUB Plan benefits on the next April 1 because you accumulated at least 1,040 contributed hours during the preceding four calendar quarters. If you were to become unemployed any time after April 1, you would be eligible to apply for SUB Plan benefits. For example: To determine eligibility for a layoff dated April 15, you would need to have an accumulation of a minimum of 1,040 contributed hours in the consecutive four full quarters between April 1 and March 31 of the following year, because that period represents the preceding four full quarters prior to the layoff. Keeping Your Eligibility for SUB Plan Benefits To keep your eligibility for SUB Plan benefits, you must have contributions made on your behalf for at least 1,040 hours during the most recent four consecutive contribution quarters. However, once you have received benefits from the SUB Plan you will continue to be eligible for SUB Plan benefits during a later period of unemployment until you have used all of your eligibility hours. If you do use all of your eligibility hours, you can again become eligible to receive SUB Plan benefits by working in covered employment at least 320 hours within 26 consecutive weeks, provided you have worked 1,040 hours during the most recent four consecutive calendar quarters. 1

6 If you again work in covered employment and have contributions made on your behalf, you begin earning eligibility hours just as if you were a new employee. Eligibility for SUB Plan benefits is not canceled if you are absent from employment due to required military service and you make yourself available for work within 90 days after your release from military service or recovery from disability incurred during military service. The example below shows how your eligibility for SUB Plan benefits could be canceled if you did not work the required number of hours. Calendar Quarter Hours Worked January March 320 April June 520 July September 160 October December 0 Total 1,000 In January, your eligibility for SUB Plan benefits would be canceled because you accumulated fewer than 1,040 contributed hours during the last four calendar quarters for reasons other than layoff. When you return to covered employment, you will begin accruing hours as a new employee and will need to accumulate 1,040 hours to become eligible for SUB Plan benefits again. You must accumulate 1,040 hours within the last four consecutive contribution quarters immediately preceding the period in which you become unemployed by reason of layoff. If, however, your unemployment was due to layoff and you received benefits from the SUB Plan, you would retain any unused eligibility hours. 2

7 How Your Benefits Are Paid Unemployment Once you accumulate 1,040 contributed hours and become eligible for SUB Plan benefits, your benefits may begin as of your eighth consecutive day of layoff and may continue for up to 52 weeks. When Benefits Stop Benefits from the SUB Plan will stop if you are not registered at the Local Union 134 Referral Hall, you are not available for work for any reason or you did not follow Daybook procedures. If you accept employment, your SUB Plan benefit for that week is reduced by one-third for each day that you work. This benefit is paid even though the amount of money you earn may make you ineligible for state unemployment compensation. Additionally, any partial week of SUB Plan benefits paid counts as a full week of benefits toward your 52 weeks of eligibility. If you work three days or more in a week, the SUB Plan does not pay a benefit for that week. Payment from the SUB Plan will also stop if you become disabled or become unable to perform the duties required of a Communication participant. Affidavit If a participant exhausts the unemployment benefit available from the state he may be eligible to continue to receive SUB Plan benefits if he completes a SUB Plan affidavit. The affidavit is accepted in lieu of a state unemployment check stub and is available only from the Fund Office. After completion, the affidavit must be notarized and returned to the Fund Office within 14 days of the date for which benefits are being claimed. A participant who was not entitled to receive any state unemployment benefits will not receive SUB Plan benefits under this affidavit provision. Right of Reimbursement If you receive SUB Plan benefits for any period of time that you were not eligible to receive such benefits, the Trustees reserve the right of reimbursement to recover any such mistaken payments. The Trustees may offset any such overpayment(s) by offsetting future benefits from the SUB Plan or any other health and welfare plan maintained by the Trustees or by taking any other action, as may be permitted by applicable law, to collect such overpayment(s). Taxes on Your SUB Plan Benefits You will be responsible for paying federal and state income taxes on your SUB Plan benefits. You should contact your tax adviser for more information. 3

8 4 Applying for Benefits To receive benefits from the SUB Plan, you must follow these steps: 1. If you are a Journeyman, register in person at the Local Union 134 Referral Hall (1140 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois) and be available for work. If you are an apprentice, report to the Training Center (6201 West 115th Street, Alsip, Illinois) to complete an application. Eligibility for SUB Plan benefits ends if you are unavailable to work for any reason or you do not comply with the Daybook procedures. In these cases, eligibility to receive SUB Plan benefits will be reinstated only after you work for a contributing employer for 20 days within a five-consecutive-week period. In addition, no SUB Plan benefits will be paid if unemployment is the result of a strike or other work stoppage. 2. Within seven calendar days of your layoff, file an application for benefits. Applications for Journeymen are available from the Fund Office (221 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois) and at the Local Union 134 Referral Hall. It is the responsibility of the participant to request an application from the staff of the Referral Hall. Journeymen must present a severance notice indicating the reason for layoff as lack of work or reduction in workforce. These are the only acceptable reasons for layoff. A participant laid off for any other reason will not be entitled to receive SUB Plan benefits. The date of the severance notice is the layoff date. Applications for apprentices are available from the Training Center. 3. Apply to the appropriate state unemployment agency and be entitled to receive state unemployment compensation. SUB Plan benefits are not available to any participant who is not entitled to receive state unemployment benefits. A participant who has exhausted his state unemployment benefits may qualify to continue SUB Plan benefits by completing a SUB Plan affidavit. 4. Mail, fax or present in person a copy of your state unemployment check stub to the Fund Office within 14 calendar days of the pay date on the check. SUB Plan benefits will not be paid for check stubs received after the 14-day deadline. SUB Plan benefits may begin when you have been unemployed for eight consecutive days. All state unemployment check stubs must be presented to the Fund Office to receive a SUB Plan check that week. See Eligibility Provisions and Claims Procedure on page 8 for detailed information. All SUB Plan checks are issued and mailed by the Fund Office on Fridays. 5. If you are employed during the four consecutive weeks after applying for SUB Plan benefits, you must reapply for SUB Plan benefits. A new application must be filed and all eligibility requirements must be met. Participants must notify the Fund Office when they accept employment in Local Union 134 or any other jurisdiction. 6. If any person knowingly misrepresents or falsifies any information or matter in connection with a claim filed for SUB Plan benefits, the Trustees have the right to deny all or part of the SUB Plan benefits which might otherwise be due in connection with that claim; and to recover any benefits erroneously paid as a result of any misrepresentation or false information.

9 If Your Application for SUB Plan Benefits Is Denied If an application for SUB Plan benefits is denied, you (or your beneficiary) will be notified within 90 days from the time the application is received by the Trustees (or within 180 days if the Trustees notify you that additional time is needed for processing the application). This written notice will state the specific reasons the application was denied and refer to the SUB Plan provisions on which the denial is based. If appropriate, the notice will describe any additional material or information necessary to complete the application and explain why this material or information is necessary. The notice will explain the steps to be taken if you or your beneficiary wish to appeal the decision. You or your beneficiary may request a review by the Trustees no later than 60 days after a notice of denial is received. This request must be in writing and specify that it is an appeal for a review of a denied application for benefits. In connection with this appeal, you, your beneficiary or a representative has the right to review pertinent documents and submit issues and comments in writing to the Trustees. The person filing the appeal may request a written answer, including specific reasons and references to pertinent plan provisions, within 60 days after the appeal is made (or within 120 days if special circumstances require additional time and the Trustees notify you that additional time is needed before the end of 60 days). The Trustees decision is final and binding. What Else Is Important? Benefits from Other Plans You will not be considered available for work if you are receiving: accident and sickness or long-term disability benefits from the Electrical Insurance Trustees, Social Security benefits, or benefits from any pension plan to which either Local Union 134 I.B.E.W. or the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is a party. Work Stoppages No SUB Plan benefits are paid if your unemployment is a result of a strike or other work stoppage. Assignment of Benefits The SUB Plan is intended to pay benefits only to you. These benefits cannot be used as collateral for loans or otherwise alienated or assigned, except in connection with certain qualified domestic relations orders issued by a court of law. A qualified domestic relations order may require payment of alimony, child support or other marital assets (which could include all or a portion of your benefit from the SUB Plan) to a spouse, former spouse, child or other dependent. 5

10 Plan Administration The Electrical Insurance Trustees Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plan described in this booklet is administered by the Electrical Insurance Trustees, 221 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois This benefits program is administered under provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended ( ERISA ) and the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended ( The Code ). The identification numbers for federal government purposes are: EIN: PN: 514 (for the SUB Plan) Sean P. Madix, located at 221 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200, Chicago, Illinois , is the agent for service of legal process concerning the SUB Plan. His telephone number is (312) Service may also be made on the Board of Trustees or an individual Trustee at the addresses listed on this page. The SUB Plan Trustees who authorize the SUB Plan benefits have the complete and unrestricted discretion to resolve all questions concerning the SUB Plan and to make rules to implement the SUB Plan and decisions of the Trustees shall be final and binding. Benefits under the SUB Plan will be paid only when the Trustees, or persons delegated by them to make such decisions, decide in their sole discretion, that the participant is entitled to benefits under the terms of the SUB Plan. The Trustees are: Employer Trustees William T. Divane, Jr. Divane Bros. Electric Company 2424 North 25th Avenue Franklin Park, Illinois (847) Thomas C. Halperin Commercial Light Co. 245 Fencl Lane Hillside, Illinois (708) Michael R. Walsdorf Advent Systems, Inc. 477 West Wrightwood Avenue Elmhurst, Illinois (630) Kenneth Bauwens Jamerson & Bauwens Electrical Contractors, Inc MacArthur Boulevard Northbrook, Illinois (847) Kevin O Shea Shamrock Electric Company 1281 East Brummel Avenue Elk Grove Village, Illinois (847) Union Trustees Timothy Foley Michael J. Caddigan Samuel Evans James North Larry Crawley Local Union 134, I.B.E.W. 600 West Washington Boulevard Chicago, Illinois (312)

11 All questions and requests for information should be sent to the Trustees at the following address: Attention: Fund Administrator Electrical Insurance Trustees 221 North LaSalle Street Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois The SUB Plan is financed by employer contributions to the Trust Fund. The contribution rate is determined by the EIT Joint Arbitration Board. Employers have no right to contributions made to the Trust Fund. The Northern Trust Company invests the assets of the Trust Fund. Although the Trustees intend to continue the SUB Plan indefinitely, the Trustees reserve the right in their sole and unrestricted discretion to change or discontinue the SUB Plan at any time for any reason. Changes or amendments may be made retroactively, if necessary, to qualify or maintain the benefits programs in order to meet the requirements of the The Code. Although the Trustees intend to maintain these benefits, economic conditions could cause a benefit reduction, as desribed in the examples below. If a substantial number of members are laid off, SUB Plan benefits may be lowered so more members may receive benefits. The SUB Plan benefit may also be lowered because of insufficient Trust Fund assets. The Trustees may suspend SUB Plan benefits in times of low unemployment. Your Legal Rights The SUB Plan is administered under the provisions of ERISA. ERISA provides that all plan participants are entitled to: Examine, free of charge, any and all official documents related to the plans such as contracts, collective bargaining agreements, detailed annual reports and plan descriptions. These documents are available at the Fund Office. Obtain copies of all plan documents and other plan information upon written request to the plan administrator. The administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies. Receive a summary of the plan s annual financial reports. Receive a summary of any material changes to the plan within 210 days after the end of the plan year in which the changes are made. ERISA also imposes duties on the persons responsible for the operation of employee benefit plans. The law refers to these persons as fiduciaries. Fiduciaries have a duty to act prudently and in the interest of plan participants and their beneficiaries. No one, including your employer, your union, or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA. If your benefit claim is denied, in whole or in part, the plan administrator must send you a written explanation of the denial. You may then ask the plan administrator to review and reconsider your claim. Under ERISA, you can take certain actions to enforce your rights. If you request materials from the plan administrator and do not receive them within 30 days, you may file suit in a federal court. The court may require the plan administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $110 a day (as indexed for inflation) until you receive them, unless the 7

12 materials were not sent due to reasons beyond the plan administrator s control. If your claim for a benefit is denied, in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or federal court. If you believe the plan s fiduciaries have misused the plan s money or if you believe you were discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and legal fees. The court may order the person you have sued to pay court costs and fees, or the court may order you to pay such costs and fees, if, for example, it finds your claim is frivolous. If you have any questions about this plan, you should contact the plan administrator. If you have questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, you should contact the nearest office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration ( EBSA ), U.S. Department of Labor, listed in your telephone directory. The Chicago regional office is located at 200 West Adams, Suite 1600, Chicago, Illinois 60606; telephone number (312) Or, contact the Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue N.W., Washington, D.C You may also obtain certain publications about your rights and responsibilities under ERISA by contacting the EBSA as follows: By calling (866) By sending electronic inquiries to or to the website of EBSA at Eligibility Provisions and Claims Procedure The following provisions govern supplemental unemployment benefits (SUB) from the Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Fund. 1. A participant must be registered and available for work. Journeymen must register in person at the Local Union 134 Referral Hall at 1140 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois. Apprentices must report to the Training Center at 6201 West 115th Street Alsip, Illinois. 2. Participants who have never collected SUB or who have not collected SUB within the past 52 consecutive weeks must have at least 1,040 contributed hours in the most recent four contribution quarters prior to the layoff date. Participants who have received SUB within the past 52 weeks must have worked 320 contributed hours within a 26 consecutive-week period. 3. If a participant is employed during four consecutive weeks after applying for SUB, he or she must reapply for SUB. A new application must be filed, and all eligibility requirements must be met. Participants must notify the Fund Office when they accept employment in Local 134 or any other jurisdiction. 8

13 4. Eligibility for SUB is terminated if a participant is unavailable to work for any reason, or a participant does not comply with the Daybook Referral System. In these cases, eligibility will be reinstated when a participant works a total of 20 days within a five-consecutive-week period within the jurisdiction of Local 134. Eligibility for SUB is terminated if a participant is unavailable to work due to illness. In the case of a participant receiving or eligible to receive a benefit from the Short Term Disability or Long Term Disability Plan benefits can be reinstated immediately upon release with proper medical documentation. 5. A participant must file an application for SUB within seven calendar days of the layoff date. Application forms for Journeymen are available at the EIT Fund Office at 221 North LaSalle Street, Suite 200 or at the Local Union 134 Referral Hall. It is the responsibility of the participant to request an application from the staff of the Referral Hall. Apprentices must file an application at the Training Center. Journeymen are required to present a severance notice indicating that the reason for the layoff is lack of work or reduction in workforce. The date of the severance notice is the layoff date. 6. Applications must be made within seven calendar days of the layoff date. Benefits commence with the eighth consecutive day of unemployment, if an application is made after the seventh consecutive day, benefits will begin on the date the application was filed. Failure to file within seven days will result in forfeiture of benefits. No benefits will be paid retroactively. 7. Participants are eligible for SUB for weeks that they receive unemployment compensation from the state. Participants must submit copies of unemployment check stubs for each week of SUB for which they apply. Copies of check stubs may be faxed, mailed or presented in person at the Fund Office within 14 days of the pay date on the check stub. Benefits will not be paid on check stubs received after the 14-day deadline. No exceptions will be made. No benefits are paid if unemployment is the result of a strike or work stoppage. All state unemployment check stubs must be presented to the Fund Office no later than Thursdays at 12:00 p.m. All checks are issued and mailed on Fridays. Check stubs received after the 12:00 p.m. deadline will be processed the following week. Please contact the SUB Department by calling (312) to verify your fax was received. A fax lost in transmission and not received by the Fund Office will not be honored after the 14-day submission deadline. 8. A participant who accepts unemployment for one or two days out of a week is entitled to a reduced SUB benefit. The benefit is reduced proportionately by thirds. For example, employment for one day reduces the benefit by one-third; two days of employment reduces the benefit by two-thirds. Please contact the SUB staff at the Fund Office if you have any questions. 9

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