Top 10 Criteria for choosing a prevailing wage benefit plan provider
Construction companies that work on public works projects covered by the Davis-Bacon Act or state prevailing wage laws are required to follow very specific rules related to bona fide fringe benefits. Choosing the right benefit plan provider / consultant takes careful...
Top 5 Reasons Construction Companies Should Offer Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans
Competition for good workers has never been higher. What better way to secure your workforce during a work slowdown or seasonal shut down than to provide them with cash benefits so that they can enjoy their time-off rather than look for work elsewhere.
Plan Now Bid more Competitively in 2019
As many contractors are wrapping up their work before the bad weather sets in, the time is coming to plan for next year.
Court Rejects Motion to Dismiss in Fringe Benefit Group (Contractors Plan) Excessive Fee Class Action Litigation
The Austin, Texas based Fringe Benefit Group (also known as The Contractors Plan), a pension and welfare benefit plan administrator was named in a class action suit for allegedly charging “sky-high” and “grossly excessive” direct and indirect fees for their...
Utilizing a hybrid approach to bona fide benefits to manage annualization concerns
Annualization is the one most commonly misunderstood concepts in the Davis-Bacon Act and state prevailing wage laws. However, knowledge about how annualization works, and how it affects a contractors’ financial obligations for benefit plans, is critical for all businesses engaged in public works.
short work week supplemental unemployment benefits
Short-week supplemental unemployment benefits ARE TAXABLE under FICA unless they meet certain IRS requirements
Success Story: How to Provide $29.00 per hour in Fringe Benefits
Background: Type of Contractor: Electrical Construction # of Employees: Approximately 30 Our featured company is an electrical contractor who works predominately on projects covered by the Davis-Bacon Act. No employee benefits have been offered to the employees and...
Prevailing Wage Plan: Employee Success Story #2
At DirectAdvisors our idea of success includes our clients as well as their employees. This success story focuses on one of our client’s employees. Our mantra has always been win-win! Our strategies and services only work when both the construction company AND their employees win. We are proud to provide this great example of an employee winning!
Cash is Not King with Benefits
My entire 27-year career has been centered on helping merit shop construction companies design and administer employee benefit plans compliant with prevailing wage regulations and I am still astounded when I hear that a contactor chooses to pay required fringe benefit contributions as cash wages rather than benefits because “that is what employees want”.
Reduce Your Labor/Payroll Burden in 2018
When contractors choose to pay the fringe benefit requirement as additional cash wages they are increasing their cost for payroll tax, workers compensation premiums and possibly liability insurance premiums. These additional payroll related burdens have an enormous effect on bottom line profits.
Fringe Benefit Group/Contractors Plan named in Excessive Fee Litigation
The Austin, Texas based Fringe Benefit Group (also known as The Contractors Plan), a pension and welfare benefit plan administrator has been named in a class action suit for charging “sky-high” and “grossly excessive” direct and indirect fees for their administrative services.
Top 5 Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Questions & Answers
We field many calls each week about Supplemental Unemployment Benefit (SUB) Plans. The following five are the most common.
Self-Insured Health Plans as “Bona Fide Fringe Benefit Plan” under Davis Bacon and State Prevailing Wage Laws
Self-insured, or self-funded health plans, are popular with employers that have a large, diverse workforce.
Prevailing Wage Plan: Employee Success Story
My last blog entry featured the success story of one of our heavy highway construction company clients. This time I want to focus on the success of one of our client’s employees.
Prevailing Wage Plan Case Study: Over $1.3 Million in Annual Savings with Direct Advisors Trust
This case study is based on a well-respected multi-generational merit shop company with a long standing dedicated workforce.
Why Use a Trust for Bona Fide Fringe Benefits?
All fringe benefit plans fall into two categories, “funded” or “unfunded”. The best type is funded, obviously. Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing this post.
Pay for Training With Prevailing Wage Fringes
Virtually any type of job related training, including apprentice training and safety training are considered bona fide benefits and therefore can be used to help meet the fringe benefit obligation of the Davis-Bacon Act or state prevailing wage laws.
Our Latest Whitepaper: Harnessing the Power of Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans
Supplemental Unemployment Benefit Plans (SUB) can be extremely beneficial for you and your employees.
Executive Order 13706: Paid Sick Leave for Employees of Federal Contractors
We would like to highlight some questions and answers we have received lately that we believe have broad relevance to our clients and prospects.
Dipping Your Toe in the Water
We continually talk with construction companies about the advantages of shifting prevailing wage fringe benefits out of payroll and into bona fide benefit programs like the DirectAdvisors Trust. Although this often makes tremendous financial sense for construction companies and their employees, the transition can be difficult when employees are accustomed to having that money paid as wages.
