As 2014 rapidly approaches, employers of all sizes and industries are working to understand what the Affordable Care Act (ACA) means for them and what they must do to comply. For employers with unions who provide medical benefits through multiemployer health and welfare plans, the process is more complicated and the options vary. In addition, the financial burdens of multiemployer pension plan commitments continue to challenge employers, with no end in sight. The nation's second-largest fund illustrates the multiemployer problem—it pays out $2.8 billion per year in benefits but brings in only $700 million. Not surprisingly, its executive director recently stated that "there is a reasonable possibility that this plan could run out of money in about a dozen years."

This interactive workshop offers employers with unionized workforces the opportunity to learn innovative and aggressive negotiating techniques and strategies for addressing those challenges. Particularly, the workshop will:

  • address unique ACA-related issues and the specific problems that a unionized employer faces in dealing with ACA's fast-approaching effective date;
  • provide a broad understanding of the challenges facing employers whose employees are in multiemployer pension plans;
  • offer participating employers strategies for assessing and minimizing their risk through collective bargaining and business planning; and
  • provide specific knowledge on negotiating withdrawals and the procedures for challenging withdrawal liability assessments and resolving these claims on the most favorable terms.

Agenda
8:00 a.m. 
— Registration and Breakfast
8:30 a.m. — The Affordable Care Act
10:30 a.m. — Morning Break
10:45 a.m. — Multi-Employer Pension Withdrawal Liability
12:30 p.m. — Lunch

The Affordable Care Act:

  • Applicability to your unionized workforce
  • Timeline for employers
  • Planning for 2014
  • What is the employer mandate?
    • Does contributing to a multiemployer plan fulfill my obligation under the mandate?
    • Who is an applicable large employer?
    • How do I calculate a full-time employee?
    • What are the potential penalties?
    • Negotiating the pay-or-play option
  • Planning beyond 2014
    • Issues for negotiations
    • Implementation checklist
    • New developments

Multi-Employer Pension Withdrawal Liability:

  • Latest news, issues, and a litigation update
  • Financial condition of multiemployer pension funds, future outlook
  • The mechanics of withdrawal liability
    • The statute, its history, how it works, etc.
    • Types of withdrawal—complete, partial, and mass
    • Special industry rules
    • Assessments, requests for review, etc.
    • Arbitration
    • Potential landmines
    • Defenses (and non-defenses)
  • Business planning issues
    • How to assess the potential benefits and risks
    • Business planning for the future and "control group" liability
    • "Trades or businesses" and joint and several liability
    • Transactions to evade or avoid withdrawal liability
    • Sale of stock or assets, and successorship issues
  • Strategies for collective bargaining
    • Should you withdraw? Staying in vs. getting out
    • How to handle, and plan for, withdrawal liability
    • Information requests
    • Dealing with critical status surcharges and rehabilitation plans
    • Impasse and implementation, and indemnification
    • Negotiating directly with a fund for reduced liability
    • Fund responses and rules
  • Effect of new "hybrid multiemployer plans" offered by certain funds
  • Legislative update

Please join us for lunch immediately following the program.

Who Should Attend:
General Counsel
Chief Operating Officers
Chief Financial Officers
Human Resources Professionals
Business Owners
Managers with HR Responsibilities

The fee for this briefing is $50 for the first person and $25 for each additional person from the same company. The fee includes breakfast, meeting handouts, and lunch.

Overnight accommodations may be made directly with the hotel.

To register, please click here.

For additional information, please contact
Elizabeth Gannon or call 202/861-1850.

Event Detail

Hyatt Regency Chicago
Jump to Page

Privacy Preference Center

When you visit any website, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. The information does not usually directly identify you, but it can give you a more personalized web experience. Because we respect your right to privacy, you can choose not to allow some types of cookies. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.

Performance Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.