Agreement Rule Sets
Plan menu, contribution formula, waiting period, life multiple and retirement vehicle per local, selected by job and pay code; ratifications effective-dated; retros explained.
Union & Multiemployer Workforce Benefits Administration
Where the plan belongs to a fund, eligibility is an hour bank, and every decision has to survive a grievance.
Collective bargaining changes benefits administration more than any industry does. Plan menus, contribution formulas and waiting periods differ by local; for Taft-Hartley funds the plan is not the employer's at all — the employer contributes per hour and the fund covers the member once an hour bank crosses a threshold; and every eligibility and contribution decision must be reproducible when the union asks. Benefits Reimagined holds each agreement as a rule set, treats the fund as the plan where that is what the agreement says, reconciles remittance to hours and eligibility, and cites the article behind every decision — SAP-native inside SuccessFactors, and ready for Workday, UKG, ADP, Dayforce, Paycom, any HRIS and third-party payroll.
Each local is a rule set
The plan is the fund · hour banks
Remittance ≡ hours ≡ eligibility
Grievance-ready audit trail
One Engine for Every Agreement — and Every Fund
Bargained workforces do not fit in generic employee benefits tables. When an employee transfers between locals, their hour bank and reciprocity agreement must travel with them without manual intervention.
Each Local Is a Rule Set
Menu, contribution, wait, retirement
The Plan Is the Fund
Hour banks and contribution rates
Remittance Reconciled to Hours
'Sent' is not 'covered'
Transfers and Reciprocity
What was earned travels
Grievance-Ready Evidence
Local, article, version, pay code
1rule set per local
plan menu, contribution formula, waiting period and retirement vehicle per bargaining unit, selected by job and pay code, effective-dated
300h / quarter
the kind of hour-bank threshold a fund sets; crossing it fires an eligibility window as an event — no classic open enrollment
3things must agree
employer remittance, recorded hours and the fund's eligibility — reconciled before anyone is told 'covered'
0unexplained retros
mid-contract ratifications are effective-dated; BR ReVerge computes the difference and explains it on the paystub
A Bargained Workforce's Benefits Flow, Step by Step
From job dispatch to hours accumulation, trust remittance, and carrier eligibility verification.
| Who | Where | What happens | Rule at this step |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1HR · HRIS · time | SAP SuccessFactors, UKG (Kronos), ADP or any HRIS and payroll | Hire, local union, craft/class, pay code, job, entity and effective date arrive; contribution hours follow nightly. | Local, craft and pay code are required inbound; a missing value quarantines instead of defaulting. |
| 2Platform | Segment resolution | Fund local, employer-plan local or company policy resolved into one dated population per member. | Admin override › employer assignment › default — logged with source. |
| 3Platform | Union policy pack | Provisions per-local rule sets, fund-keyed plans, hour-bank thresholds, contribution rates, reciprocity pairs, union document types and the 'eligibility window opened' event. | Each agreement gated as mandatory. |
| 4Time system | Contribution hours | Hours accrue to the member's bank per local; employer plans measure hours of service for ACA; seniority dates re-rank tiers. | Hours, never the roster. |
| 5Member | Employee Home · mobile | Sees the bank balance or hours to eligibility, the window and deadline, the menu for the current agreement and Athena citing the article. | Resumable from the job site. |
| 6Rules engine | Eligibility | Bank crosses the threshold → 'eligibility window opened'; employer plans apply the agreement's wait; transfers switch on the effective date. | Determinations store hours, local and rule version. |
| 7Member | Election | Fund members elect within the window; employer-plan members enroll per the agreement; ratifications re-price on their effective date. | No classic open enrollment for fund locals. |
| 8Payroll | Contributions and deductions | Per-hour H&W, pension and annuity contributions from the pay record; deductions to Employee Central Payroll or any third-party payroll; retros via BR ReVerge. | Nothing re-keyed. |
| 9Funds · carriers | Reconciliation | Remittance vs hours vs fund eligibility matched per member per period; employer-plan invoices matched four ways; variances become cases. | 'Sent' is not 'covered'. |
| 10Labor relations · auditor | Audit trail | Every decision cites the local, the article, the version and the pay code; documents, remittances and notices retained. | The grievance answer is in the log. |
One Member, Five Moments Between Dispatch and the Fund Statement
How members, fund administrators, and payroll teams coordinate across the agreement cycle.
Each Local Is a Rule Set
A collective agreement is a set of benefits rules with an effective date, and Benefits Reimagined stores it as exactly that. Plan menus, contribution formulas, waiting periods, life multiples and retirement vehicles are configured per bargaining unit; the employee's job type and pay code select the agreement; a transfer or reclassification switches it on the effective date. Non-represented and open-shop populations run on company policy beside the agreements, on the same tenant and the same enrollment flow.
What a rule set holds
- Plan menu, contribution formula, waiting period, life multiple and retirement vehicle per local — building trades, Teamsters, ATU, IAM, nurses, AFSCME, faculty
- Job type and pay code select the agreement automatically; reclassifications switch it on the effective date
- Mid-contract ratifications entered once with their effective date; BR ReVerge computes retros and explains them
- Company policy for non-represented staff beside the agreements — one tenant, one audit trail
Why it matters
No spreadsheet sits between the contract and the paycheck.
The audit entry for every decision names the local, the article and the version — the grievance answer in one line.
The Plan Is the Fund
For a Taft-Hartley fund, Benefits Reimagined does not model the plan as the employer's. The plan is keyed at the fund level; the employee's record carries the local, craft or class, the hours-bank year to date, the contribution rate and the fringe account; eligibility is the hour bank crossing the fund's quarterly threshold. When it crosses, an 'eligibility window opened' event fires — there is no classic open enrollment — and the member elects. Trust accounting and actuarial math stay with the fund's specialists; the employer's obligation is to contribute per hour and prove it.
What the fund model changes
- Fund-keyed health-and-welfare, pension, annuity and vacation plans per local
- Hours-bank year to date, contribution rate, fringe account and craft/class as governed fields on the record
- 'Eligibility window opened' fires when the bank crosses the threshold; the member's window, notice and deadline follow
- Apprentice and journey classes carry their own rates and thresholds
Why it matters
Rolling eligibility driven by the trade, not the calendar.
Withdrawal liability, trust accounting and actuarial math are partner-owned by design; BR evidences the contributions and the eligibility.
Remittance Reconciled to Hours and Eligibility
The dispute that costs employers most is the one where the remittance, the hours and the fund's eligibility disagree. Benefits Reimagined matches employer remittance to recorded hours and to the eligibility the fund reports — per local, per member, per period — in the same direction as 4-Way Reconciliation matches carrier invoices. Discrepancies route to a case before the contribution report is sent, and the evidence is kept.
What is matched
- Per-hour contributions calculated from the pay record for each covered local, remitted with the contribution report
- Remittance vs recorded hours vs fund-reported eligibility matched per member per period; variances routed to BR Resolve cases
- Fund statements imported and reconciled; portability and reciprocal credits reflected
- Employer plans under agreements reconciled to carrier invoices four ways on the same screen
Why it matters
'Sent' is not 'covered' until the three agree.
Variance patterns by local and job site are visible in BR Intelligence before an audit finds them.
Transfers and Reciprocity
Bargained workforces move — between jobs, between locals, between states, and between a fund job and an employer-plan job. Benefits Reimagined switches the agreement on the effective date, carries the hours-bank year to date, the contribution rate and the fringe account on the record for reciprocal transfers, and applies break-in-service rules so a recall restores what was earned. Every transfer's audit entry cites both agreements.
What travels with the worker
- Transfers between locals carry the hours-bank year to date and rate — reciprocity as a field, not a phone call
- Fund job to employer-plan job: contributions stop, the plan's wait starts — or is waived by the break-in-service rule
- Layoff, recall and rehire as events with break-in-service rules; coverage, elections and seniority restored on recall
- Seniority tiers and pension credits preserved across transfers; retros computed when a transfer is entered late
Why it matters
What was earned travels with the worker.
Reciprocal agreements are configuration per pair of locals, effective-dated like everything else.
Grievance-Ready Evidence
When a steward asks why a member was not covered in October, the answer cannot be 'we think'. Benefits Reimagined stores, for every segment-driven decision, the inputs, the resolved agreement, the rule version, the approvals, the documents requested and received, the contribution remitted and the communications sent. Labor relations answers from the log; the fund office and the auditor see the same record.
What the trail contains
- Every eligibility, contribution and election decision cites the local, the article, the version and the pay code
- Ratifications, overrides and field changes are logged with who changed them and when
- Union election forms, authorization cards and agreement documents retained per policy in the Document Center
- Athena answers 'why was this member not covered?' from the trail, for the administrator and the steward
Why it matters
The grievance answer is one line in the log.
The same evidence model serves the fund audit, the DOL inquiry and the renewal negotiation.
Rules of Union and Multiemployer Benefits
Taft-Hartley trust accounting, reciprocal hour agreements, and grievance-proof audit trails.
| Rule | What it means on this page | Why it holds |
|---|---|---|
| The agreement is the rule set | Menu, contribution, wait, life multiple and retirement vehicle per local, effective-dated; job and pay code select it. | No spreadsheet between the contract and the paycheck. |
| For funds, the plan is the fund | Fund-keyed plans; the record carries local, craft/class, hours-bank year to date, contribution rate and fringe account. | The employer contributes per hour and proves it. |
| Eligibility is an event | The bank crossing the threshold fires 'eligibility window opened'; the window, notice and deadline are per member. | No classic open enrollment for fund locals. |
| Three things must agree | Remittance, recorded hours and fund-reported eligibility are matched per member per period before the report is sent. | Variances become cases, not audit findings. |
| Ratifications are dated, retros explained | New rates entered once; payroll applies them from the cycle; BR ReVerge computes and explains the difference. | Nothing re-keyed, nothing unexplained. |
| What was earned travels | Reciprocity carries the bank and rate between locals; break-in-service rules restore coverage on recall. | A transfer is an audit entry, not a loss. |
| Every decision is cited | Local, article, version and pay code on every eligibility and contribution outcome; documents and notices retained. | The grievance answer is one line in the log. |
| What stays with partners | Trust accounting, withdrawal liability, pension and actuarial math, certified filing rails. | BR orchestrates and evidences; the fund's specialists calculate. |
Core Capabilities for Union and Multiemployer Workforces
Engineered specifically for collective bargaining agreements and multiemployer funds.
Fund-Keyed Plans
Health-and-welfare, pension, annuity and vacation funds keyed at the fund level, with contribution rate, fringe account and craft/class on the record.
Hour-Bank Eligibility
Contribution hours accrue per local; crossing the threshold fires 'eligibility window opened' — no classic open enrollment.
Remittance Reconciliation
Employer remittance vs recorded hours vs fund-reported eligibility matched per member per period; variances become cases before the report is sent.
Transfers and Reciprocity
Hours-bank year to date, rate and fringe account carried between locals; break-in-service rules on layoff and recall.
Grievance-Ready Evidence
Every decision cites the local, article, version and pay code; documents, remittances and communications retained — in SAP SuccessFactors and in any HRIS or third-party payroll.
Built for HR, Labor Relations, Payroll and the Steward
Unifying employer administration with labor agreements and union reporting standards.
Agreements as rule sets
- Five locals and company policy on one tenant
- Ratifications entered once, effective-dated
- Ticket intelligence via BR Resolve
The answer in the log
- Every decision cites local, article, version
- Grievance evidence table in minutes
- Reciprocity and transfers traced
Remittance that reconciles
- Per-hour contributions from the pay record
- Three-way match before the report is sent
- Retros computed and explained by BR ReVerge
Hours, coverage, dates — on the phone
- Hour-bank balance and window on Employee Home
- Athena cites the agreement
- Documents by photo, verified in seconds
Fund Administrator or Generic Module vs. an Employer Platform Built for Bargaining
Why standalone trust platforms and generic HCMs fail to reconcile labor contracts.
| Moment | Fund administrator or generic benefits module | Benefits Reimagined |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple locals | One plan menu; local differences handled by HR by hand. | Each local is a rule set selected by job and pay code; transfers switch it on the effective date. |
| Taft-Hartley funds | The employer sends a check and learns of a gap at audit. | The plan is the fund on the employee's record; hour bank, rate and fringe account are fields, eligibility is an event. |
| Remittance | Reconciled by the fund office, if at all. | Remittance vs hours vs eligibility matched per member before the contribution report is sent. |
| Ratification mid-year | Retros re-keyed by payroll. | Entered once with the effective date; BR ReVerge computes and explains the difference. |
| Reciprocal transfer | A phone call between fund offices. | Hours-bank year to date and rate carried on the record; both agreements cited. |
| Grievance | A meeting and a search for emails. | One evidence table from the log — agreement, hours, remittance, notice, outcome. |
| Member questions | The steward or the fund office, during the day. | Athena from the member's own record, citing the agreement, at any hour. |
Athena for members and stewards
Meet Athena: Answers Cited to the Article
AI guidance that answers contract and benefits questions citing the exact CBA section.
- "How many hours do I have in the bank?" — the year-to-date bank, the threshold and the projected window date
- "I'm moving to the Local 46 job — do I lose my hours?" — no — the reciprocity rule, cited, and what carries
- "Why did my share go up in October?" — the ratified rate, the article and the retro computed by BR ReVerge
- "¿Mi familia está cubierta este trimestre?" — the fund's eligibility for the quarter and the remittance behind it, in Spanish
- For labor relations — "why was this member not covered in October?" — the evidence table from the log
How many hours do I have in the bank, and when am I covered?
Athena · from your record
Your Local 1977 bank is at 320 contribution hours as of August 31 — above the 300-hour quarterly threshold — so your eligibility window opened on September 2 and runs 30 days. Your employer's health-and-welfare remittance for those hours is reconciled with the fund. If you elect by October 2, coverage starts October 1.
Elect nowShow my hours by month
I'm being sent to the Local 46 job in January. Do I lose those hours?
Athena · from the agreements
No. Local 1977 and Local 46 have a reciprocal agreement, so your hours-bank year to date and your contribution rate carry on your record to the Local 46 job, and the fringe account is mapped. The transfer will be logged citing both agreements. I can show the Local 46 rates side by side.
Compare ratesAsk labor relations
Ask about your hours, coverage or agreement…
Why Employers With Bargained Workforces Choose Benefits Reimagined
Every Local, One Engine
Five agreements and company policy on one tenant — each a rule set, each effective-dated, each cited.
The Fund, Modeled Honestly
Fund-keyed plans, hour banks, rates and fringe accounts on the record; trust math left to the trust.
Remittance That Proves Itself
Three-way match before the report is sent; variances become cases, not audit findings.
What Was Earned Travels
Reciprocity, transfers, layoffs and recalls with break-in-service rules — nothing lost, nothing re-keyed.
The Grievance Answer in One Line
Local, article, version, pay code, hours, remittance, notice, outcome — from the log, in minutes.
SAP-Native, Any HRIS, Any Payroll
Embedded in SAP SuccessFactors — and the same engine for Workday, UKG, ADP, Dayforce, Paycom, any HRIS and third-party payroll.
Four Bargained-Workforce Stories — and One on Another HRIS
Practical scenarios across trade unions, healthcare nurses, and transport bargaining units.
The bank crosses 300
Jane Doe's Local 1977 bank crosses the quarterly threshold in August; the window opens as an event, she elects from her phone, and the remittance reconciles with the fund before coverage is reported.
Fund, hours, remittance agree.Ratified mid-year
The nurses' agreement ratifies a new contribution share effective October 1; payroll applies it from cycle 21 and BR ReVerge computes the retro for anyone entered late, citing Article 14 on the paystub.
Entered once, explained everywhere.Transferred to an employer-plan job
An operator moves from a fund-covered route to a salaried dispatcher role; contributions stop, the employer plan's wait is waived by the break-in-service rule, and both agreements are cited.
No new wait, no lost credit.Sent to another local's job
A journey electrician's hours-bank year to date and rate carry to Local 46 under the reciprocal agreement; the fringe account is mapped and the transfer logged.
What was earned travels.
SAP SuccessFactors · Workday · UKG · ADP · Dayforce · third-party payroll
The same agreements on any HRIS and payroll
An employer whose salaried staff run SAP SuccessFactors and whose craft workforce is paid through a third-party payroll sends the same locals, pay codes and hours. The union pack applies identically, remittances reconcile the same way, and the BR Intelligence variance-by-local view is the same screen.
See SuccessFactors & HRIS SyncBring Your Agreements. We'll Run Them.
Experience how Benefits Reimagined models multi-local rules and hour banks with zero friction.
Rule set per local
Fund-keyed plans · hour banks
Three-way remittance match
Reciprocity
Grievance-ready
Any HRIS · third-party payroll
Union & Multiemployer Benefits FAQs
Administration of benefits where the plan belongs to a trust fund spanning many employers: the employer contributes per hour under the collective agreement, the member becomes eligible when a contribution-hour bank crosses the fund's threshold, there is no classic open enrollment, and the employer must prove its remittance matches hours and eligibility. It is the most structurally distinct benefits model in the U.S.
Under an employer plan governed by a collective agreement, the employer sponsors the plan and the agreement sets the menu, contribution and waiting period. Under a fund plan the trust sponsors it; the employer's obligation is the per-hour contribution. Benefits Reimagined runs both on one tenant — the first as an employer plan with a per-local rule set, the second as a fund-keyed plan with hour-bank eligibility.
Contribution hours accrue per local on the member's record. When the bank crosses the fund's quarterly threshold, an 'eligibility window opened' event fires and the member elects within the window. Hours below the threshold are visible to the member as a countdown; reciprocal transfers carry the year-to-date bank.
Employer remittance, recorded hours and the fund's reported eligibility are matched per member per period before the contribution report is sent; variances open a case. Employer plans under agreements are reconciled to carrier invoices four ways on the same screen.
New rates and rules are entered once with their effective date. Payroll applies them from that cycle, BR ReVerge computes any retroactive difference for members entered late, and the paystub note explains the change citing the article.
The hours-bank year to date, contribution rate and fringe account carry on the record to the new local under the configured reciprocal agreement; the audit entry cites both agreements. A move from a fund job to an employer-plan job stops contributions and starts the plan's wait unless the break-in-service rule waives it.
No. Trust accounting, withdrawal liability, pension and actuarial math stay with the fund's specialists. Benefits Reimagined evidences the employer's contributions and the member's eligibility and reconciles them to the fund's statement.
SAP SuccessFactors embedded, and the same engine for Workday, UKG, ADP, Dayforce, Paycom, any HRIS and third-party payroll; time systems for contribution hours; fund statements by file; carriers for employer plans by file or API.
Construction and the building trades, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, hospital nursing, public-sector units and higher-education staff. Each industry page shows the union configuration inside its own pack.
Explore Benefits Reimagined Today
Transform labor benefits compliance into a streamlined, audited workflow.