The Payroll Auditor’s Role in Withdrawal Liability Cases

Posting by Ira Mitzner

Employer withdrawal liability (“EWL”) is a subject that makes an auditor roll his/her eyes and hope that this complex area of the law lies strictly in the jurisdiction of the actuary and EWL counsel.  However, the auditor does have a role to play in the process.

What Exactly is Employer Withdrawal Liability?
First, some history and background.  In 1980, Congress was concerned that employers were withdrawing from defined benefit plans, leaving liability (for future pensions) to those employers […]

Hiring a Payroll Audit Firm, Question 2: How Many Audits Do You Perform?

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

s part of this series, I am providing Plan Trustees with a list of questions they should ask when requesting proposals from payroll auditing firms.  Click here to view the full list of questions.

Question 2: How many audits do you perform annually?

A firm that performs a large number of audits annually has the ability to complete audits in a given geographic area for many of its clients at the same time.  This saves time and […]

Court Holds Audit Reports are Timely, Admissible, and Conclusive of Damages

Posting by Erinn Weeks Waldner

In his October 25, 2011 Decision and Order, Judge Richard M. Berman ordered six alter ego companies to pay Plaintiffs, the trustees and fiduciaries of multiemployer employee benefit plans, nearly $12 million in unpaid contributions and statutorily-mandated remedies pursuant to ERISA Section 502(g)(2), 29 U.S.C. § 1132(g)(2).  See Gesualdi v. Juda Constr., Ltd., et al., 10 Civ. 1799 (RMB), 2011 WL 5075438 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 25, 2011) (“Decision”). Friedman & Wolf represented the Plaintiffs in this […]

Obtaining an Award of Audit Costs: Case Study

Posting by Travis Ketterman

In my last two blog entries, I reviewed important lessons that can be learned about admitting an auditor’s report into evidence and allowing an auditor to testify at a federal trial.  These lessons were a crucial part of a federal appellate court decision in Trustees of Chicago Plastering Institute Pension Fund v. Cork Plastering Co., 570 F.3d 890 (7th Cir. 2009).  This final installment on the Cork Plastering case discusses the award of audit costs to […]

The Auditor’s Testimony at Trial: A Case Study

Posting by Travis Ketterman

In my previous post, I reviewed important aspects of a federal appellate court decision about the admissibility of an auditor’s report in a trial seeking multi-employer trust fund contributions.  See Trustees of Chicago Plastering Institute Pension Fund v. Cork Plastering Co., 570 F.3d 890 (7th Cir. 2009).  In a previous entry, Phil Vivirito, Bond Beebe’s Director of Payroll and Compliance Auditing, discussed his recent testimony at a similar federal ERISA trial.   In keeping with that theme, this […]

Hiring a Payroll Audit Firm, Question 1: Years of Experience

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

As part of this series, I am providing Plan Trustees with a list of questions they should ask when requesting proposals from payroll auditing firms.  The first question explores the standard level of experience trustees should seek in a firm.

Question 1: How many years have you (the primary auditor who would be performing the audit) been doing payroll audits?  How many years has your firm been doing payroll audits?

You want a person who has experience […]

Trustees May Rely on Certified Payroll Records

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

In an article entitled “Fiduciary Duties Created by Project Labor Agreements” in the International Foundation of Benefit Plans’ August 2011 Benefits Magazine, Paul Moorhead of Laquer, Urban, Clifford & Hodge, LLP provides useful guidance for Trustees whose participants work under a project labor agreement.  On the specific nuances of payroll auditing issues involved when nonunion contractors are bound to a Collective Bargaining Agreement, Moorhead states:

The courts have held that trustees may rely on certified payroll […]

Legal Update: Court Rules That Trustees Can Proceed with $700,000 Fund Contribution Case

Posting by Larry Beebe, CPA

In Trustees of the Sheet Metal Workers’ Local Union No. 33 Profit Sharing Annuity Funds v. Beckley Mechanical Inc., an employer argued that it had agreed to execute Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) in exchange for several promises, including a promise by a union agent to withdraw a criminal action against one of the employer’s executives.  The employer said it was not contractually bound to make contributions to the funds because the contract was illegal or […]