As anyone involved in the multi-employer benefit fund world knows, trustees are held responsible as fiduciaries for how their plans are operated. Verifying that signatory companies are properly reporting and remitting benefit contributions is viewed by the DOL as a basic requirement of every fund. If not done properly, the auditor is prohibited from issuing an unqualified opinion and the trustees could be accused of failing in their fiduciary responsibility. Benefit funds today usually participate in a “payroll compliance audit program” that reviews company payroll records on a regular basis to ensure the funds are being paid properly. Sometimes the programs are internally staffed and managed, but it is more common to hire professionals to perform the work.
We understand the importance of “payroll compliance audits” and have been involved in them for almost 30 years. Howard Levinson began his career as a payroll compliance auditor and continues to be actively involved in their preparation. We have a dedicated staff of 13 professionals devoted solely to this area. We do not assign employees to these jobs as filler between more important jobs, but have trained staff to do this type of work exclusively. We work with every client to determine what information should be reported. For example, most of our clients ask us to verify if wages paid comply with the union contract. In one case, we also report if the employer is regularly paying wages above the hourly contract rate.
Every job is reviewed by one of our two supervisors, who average over 10 years experience in this specialized field. We have often been called to testify in court about our procedures and findings and work closely with the funds’ legal counsel when needed.