C. ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION

1. Board of Trustees Responsibilities.

The Plan is administered by a Board of Trustees consisting of six Trustees and two Alternate Trustees. One-half of the Trustees, called “Employer Trustees,” are selected by the San Francisco Electrical Contractors Association Inc. (“SFECA”), which is signatory to the IBEW Local 6/SFECA Inside Wireman Collective Bargaining Agreement. The other half of the Trustees, who are called “Union Trustees”, are selected by IBEW Local 6. The current Trustees are listed here. The Trust Agreement permits Alternate Trustees to attend all meetings and take action only when a regular Trustee is not available.

The Trustees have many powers and functions including investing the Plan's assets, interpreting Plan provisions, amending the Plan, deciding policy questions, and contracting with advisors and consultants, such as an auditor, legal counsel and investment manager.

The Plan is administered through the EISB having its office at:

720 Market Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, California 94102-2509

Only the Board of Trustees and its authorized representatives, including EISB, are authorized to interpret the Plan of benefits described in this booklet. No one else can interpret this Plan or act as an agent for the Board of Trustees. This includes Employers, Employer Associations, the Union and their representatives. The Board of Trustees (and persons or entities appointed or so designated by the Board of Trustees) has the full discretionary authority to determine eligibility for benefits and to construe the terms of the Plan (and other documents pertaining to the Plan and Trust) and any rules adopted by the Trustees.

The Board of Trustees of the Plan is the named fiduciary with the authority to control and manage the operation and administration of the Plan. The Board shall make such rules, interpretations and computations and take such other actions to administer the Plan as the Board, in its sole discretion, may deem appropriate. The rules, interpretations, computations and actions of the Board shall be binding and conclusive on all persons.

2. Standards of Interpretation.

The Board of Trustees (and persons or entities appointed or so designated by the Board of Trustees) shall have the full discretionary authority to determine eligibility for benefits and to construe the terms of this Plan and any regulations and rules adopted by the Board. Only the EISB and/or the Board of Trustees acting upon appeals properly before the Board shall have the authority to bind the Board to an interpretation of the provisions of this Plan. Nonetheless, claims and appeals for matters relating to an HMO are subject to that HMO's rules and procedures.

3. Delegation of Duties and Responsibilities.

The Board of Trustees may engage such employees, accountants, actuaries, consultants, investment managers, attorneys and other professionals or other persons to render advice and/or to perform services with regard to any of its responsibilities under the Plan, as it shall determine to be necessary or appropriate.

4. Employer Contributions.

Employer contributions are made to the Plan pursuant to the terms of a recognized collective bargaining agreement as defined in the Trust Agreement or a Letter of Assent to such collective bargaining agreement (“Collective Bargaining Agreement”). Contribution rates for each hour of Covered Employment are set, from time to time, by the parties to the Collective Bargaining Agreements. Your Employer is required to contribute only for such hours of work that are required by the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Your Employer is required to make monthly contributions for your Covered Employment by the dates specified in the joint services agreement pursuant to the delegation by the Plan to EISB. By way of example, January hours generate employer contributions in February which are posted on the Plan’s books when received, but are not credited to employees until March. Each monthly payment made by your Employer is accompanied by a transmittal form that contains the names, Social Security numbers, and hours of work performed by each Covered Employee together with a payment to the Plan. The Employer contributions to the Plan are not subject to withholding for Federal Insurance Contribution Act (“FICA”), Federal Unemployment Tax Act (“FUTA”), or state or federal taxes. (See Section XIV, Definitions for Covered Employee, Covered Employment and Employer.)

The Plan Office checks the Employer’s transmittal report for mathematical accuracy and notifies the Employer if there is any error in the Employer's computations which requires correction.

The amount of Employer contributions made to the Plan for non-bargaining unit employees (such as employees of the Union, the Joint Apprentice and Training Committee (“JATC”) and others not working under a Collective Bargaining Agreement) will be governed by individual subscription agreements entered into with the Plan and any rules adopted by the Board of Trustees.

5. Loss of Eligibility if No Contributions.

Eligibility is not credited unless the Employer contributions are received by the Plan Office. The only exception is that if you lose eligibility because of the Employer contribution delinquency (and have no hours left in your hour bank), eligibility is granted for up to two months.

6. Availability of Plan Resources.

Benefits provided through this Plan can be paid only to the extent that the Plan has adequate resources for such payments. No Contributing Employer has any liability, directly or indirectly, to provide the benefits established hereunder, beyond the obligation to make contributions as provided in the Collective Bargaining Agreement. In the event that at any time the Plan does not have sufficient assets to permit continued payments hereunder, nothing contained in this Plan shall be construed as obligating any Contributing Employer to make benefit payments or contributions (other than the contributions for which the Contributing Employer may be obligated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement) in order to provide for the benefits established hereunder. (See Section XIV, Definitions, for Employer/Contributing Employer.)

There shall be no liability upon the Board of Trustees, individually or collectively, or upon any Employer, the Union, signatory associations or other person or entity to provide benefits established hereunder if the Plan does not have sufficient assets to make such benefit payments.

7. Funding Methods and Benefits.

The Trustees may provide benefits by insurance HMO, self-funding or by any other lawful means or methods upon which they may determine. The coverage to be provided shall be determined in the sole discretion of the Board of Trustees and limited to such benefits as can be purchased with the funds available.

8. Special Exclusion for Fraud.

No benefits will be paid for fraudulent claims of service or supplies by a Participant, Dependent, or any other person. If a fraudulent claim has been paid on behalf of any person, both you, the Participant and any person on whose behalf a fraudulent claim was submitted as your Dependent will be liable to the Plan for repayment of any benefits paid on your behalf or on behalf of your Dependent against the amount which was fraudulently paid on behalf of yourself or the other person.

If you or your Dependent has any outstanding liability for fraudulently paid claims, neither you nor your Dependents may assign any rights to benefits to a provider of services or supplies until all fraudulently paid benefits are repaid in full. If fraudulently paid benefits are not repaid in full, any purported assignment of benefits by you or your Dependent may be disregarded by the Plan, and payments of benefits by the Plan under a purported assignment is not a waiver of the right of the Plan to refuse to acknowledge other purported assignments. If any fraudulent claims have not been repaid when you or your Dependent incurs Covered Charges, you or your Dependent shall pay all charges directly and file a claim for credit in lieu of benefits, until the entire amount of the fraudulent claims have been credited.