Employers who are signatory to a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters are obligated within that agreement to make certain fringe benefit payments on behalf of their employees to the Southwest Carpenters Trust. The funds and contribution amounts are specified within each agreement to which the employer is bound.
This includes employers signatory to:
Master Labor Agreements
Single Project Agreements
Project Labor Agreements
Subscriber Agreements
International Agreements
The Process:
The agreement between the SWRCC and the employer is finalized and executed.
The Contract Administrator at the SWRCC will submit a copy of the signed agreement to the Employer Services Dept at CSAC.
Employer Services will process the agreement and set up the employer based upon the information provided.
Employer Services staff will send a New Employer Packet to new signatory employers with information and instruction for remittance reporting.
The Employer Services staff is committed to providing support to employers for remittance reporting. If at any time you have questions or concerns, contact us by email at EmployerServices@carpenterssw.org or (213) 386-8590, ext. 116.
Submitting Fringe Benefit Contributions Each Month
The Obligation to Remit Contributions: Employers are required to remit payment for fringe benefits for each employee performing covered work. Covered work is defined within the collective bargaining agreement. The contributions are usually based on hours worked or sometimes on gross wages. Carefully review the agreements or rate sheets provided by the SWRCC as those will contain specific information regarding the basis for fringe benefit contributions.
Due Dates: Employer contributions are due by the 15th of the month following the month of work and are considered late if received after the 25th of the month. If the 25th of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, payments made by check must be received on the last business day before the 25th to avoid assessment of liquidated damages at 10% of the amount due plus interest. EFT payments may be processed through the 25th of the month regardless of the day.
Online Reporting: Southwest Carpenters Trust requires all employers to report through the EmployerXG Portal each month. Paper remittance forms are not prepared for employers and are not accepted. Payment can be made electronically by EFT or by sending a Remittance Confirmation with a check.
Getting Started: New signatory employers will receive a New Employer Packet with an Invitation to Remittance Reporting with details regarding the reporting obligations and instructions and codes needed to sign up for EmployerXG. Other documents include:
In addition to the printed materials available to assist you with reporting through EmployerXG, you can access additional instruction and video tutorials on specific topics below.
Introduction To Reporting
How To Sign Up For EmployerXG
How To Reset Your Password
How To Add A New User
How To Create A Supplemental Report
How To Submit A No Work Report
How To Upload A Remittance File
How To Copy A Remittance
How To Apply A Credit
How To Pay A Discrepancy Notice
What you Need to Know About Reporting Contributions:
Do not pay the hourly contributions to an employee in lieu of contributions to any one of the Trusts as doing so will not relieve you of the obligation to remit payment to the Trusts.
Contributions payable to the Vacation Trust for Vacation, Supplemental Dues and CLIC obligations should be included in the employee's total gross wages for tax purposes under most circumstances and agreements. The full amount due the Vacation Trust is retained by you for transmittal to the Trusts' depository bank on a monthly basis as part of your remittance.
A Sample Payroll is provided for employers new to Union Payroll and Remittance Reporting.
Do not make any contributions on sole owners. Self-contributions are not accepted.
Corporate officers, partners, RMEs, RMOs and superintendents who work with the tools of the trade should not be reported as a regular journeyman. See the C4A Participation Agreement on the website and contact Employer Services for more information.
Employers are required to submit a remittance report for each open agreement or classification on file for each open work month and must file a "No Work" report if no work was performed.
The agreements and rates available for reporting in EmployerXG are based upon agreement or project information provided by the Contract Administrator of the SWRCC to the Trust. If you believe that a rate is incorrect or missing please contact Employer Services immediately for assistance.
If you no longer hire a craft, are out of business, your business becomes inactive, or you feel like you no longer have an obligation to submit monthly reports because your project is complete, please contact Employer Services immediately.
For consistency, it is generally recommended that employers report contributions based on the pay dates in a work month.
The Board will consider a request for a credit of monies paid in error. However, credits or refunds are considered only if the request is received in a timely manner and certain conditions may apply.
Employers may make contributions for Health & Welfare and Pension/Annuity for the following classifications outside of the Master Labor Agreement.
Corporate Officers, Partners, RMEs or RMO's
Superintendents
Project Managers
Project Estimators
C4A contributions are subject to the following conditions:
Contribute 173 hours per month for each C4A participant at the current Health & Welfare and Pension/Annuity rates in the applicable Master Labor Agreement, regardless of the number of hours worked or paid each month.
Regularly contribute on 2 or more bargaining unit participants.
Remit contributions for bargaining unit employees timely.
Review the C4A Participation Agreement for details, complete the following documents and forward them to EmployerServices@carpenterssw.org or call 213-386-8590 x 116 to speak to an Employer Services Representative to start reporting or to add a participant.
Employers may obtain Health & Welfare Benefits for employees outside of the collective bargaining agreement under the Employer Participation Agreement for Non-Bargaining Employee Coverage.
Non-Bargaining contributions are subject to the following conditions:
Remit monthly premium contributions by the 15th of the month preceding the coverage month.
Regularly contribute on 2 or more bargaining unit participants.
Remit contributions for bargaining unit employees timely.
Remit monthly premiums for all employees not otherwise covered by a bargaining agreement, the employee works less than 30 hours per week or unless coverage is declined by the employee because of other coverage.
Employers are responsible for at least 50% of the employee's monthly premium.
Employers who are interested in offering Non-Bargaining Health & Welfare Coverage should contact EmployerServices@carpenterssw.org or call 213-386-8590 x 116 to request an Employer Participation Agreement for review.
Under the FMLA eligible employees can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave each year for family and medical reasons and covered employers are required to maintain group health coverage for employees on FMLA if they had coverage immediately before the leave.
Eligible Employees
Work for an employer with 50+ employees
Have worked for the same covered employer for at least 12 months
Have worked at least 1250 hours for the same covered employer in the last 12 months
Work at a location where the employer has at least 50 employees within a 75 mile radius.
Employers who have properly granted FMLA leave to a carpenter employee should contact the Employer Services Department at EmployerServices@carpenterssw.org for assistance with remitting sufficient Health and Welfare contributions on behalf of an eligible employee. A completed U.S.D.O.L. Designation Notice will be required.
Employers will report 120 hours per month or the minimum number of hours required to maintain coverage, whichever is higher.
Employers will report hours for the health and welfare contribution only at the current hourly rate in the Master Labor Agreement and jurisdiction the employer is working in.
Employers will report to the Southwest Carpenters Trust the hours paid to their carpenter employees under the FFCRA Paid Leave Entitlements
Contributions are only collected for the Health and Welfare fund at the current hourly rate in the Master Labor Agreement and jurisdiction the employer is working in.
Facilitating Payment and Verifying Compliance For Tthe Benefit of Employers and Participants
Collections
If payment is not received for monthly reports, the Collections department will contact you to arrange a date for payment. If you are unable to be make a payment, the Collections department can assist you by providing conditional releases to collect directly from general contractors via joint check or setting up a payment plan. Contact Chris Hidalgo, Collections Manager at chidalgo@carpenterssw.org or (213) 739-9488 for assistance.
The Collections department also provides employers with unconditional releases, project specific status letters and assists with audit invoices and refunds.
Compliance Audits
Employers who are obligated to remit contribution to the Southwest Carpenters Trusts are routinely audited to verify that all required contributions are submitted timely for covered work and that all employers are meeting their obligation to the Trusts. The Trust is required to maintain an audit program under ERISA.
The assigned auditor will follow established procedures to verify that all covered work has been reported. In light of the fact that the purpose of this examination is to determine the proper contributions due to the Trust, it will be necessary that our auditors have access to and be able to examine the following types of records:
Payroll records, including detail on hours worked and paid (weekly or monthly); must be delineated as follows:
Regular hours
overtime hours
school hours
holiday hours
travel time
vacation hours
jury duty
sick time
workers' compensation time
and all other non-worked paid hours
Individual employee earnings records (quarterly or yearly).
Timecards/Certified Payroll Reports (daily).
Employer's Federal 941 Quarterly Payroll Tax Returns.
Employers' Federal annual earnings reports:
Form W-2
W-3
1099
1096
State Quarterly Unemployment Compensation Reports.
Employer copies of monthly contribution reports for all fringe benefit funds to which you contribute.
General ledger and cash disbursement records with back up documentation, such as invoices.
Employee roster of all employees including job title/duties, wage rate/salary, hire and term dates.
Copy of your last Workers' Compensation Audit.
What to Expect When You Are Audited:
An initiation letter will be sent by CSAC informing you there was an audit called for your company.
CSAC's third party auditing company, Calibre CPA Group PLLC "Calibre", will contact you by phone or email within 30 days to schedule a mutually agreeable date, within 2 weeks of contact, for an onsite audit, or delivery of electronic records to be sent to the auditor for review.
If there are audit findings, Calibre will send a "DRAFT" audit for you to review. If you would like to dispute the findings there will be a 10 day period to respond to Calibre.
CSAC will send a zero audit letter or a final audit billing for the audit findings, fees, liquidated damages and interest.
The CSAC Collections Department will follow up to collect the payment for the audit.
