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Member Handbook > Policies
POLICIES
Table of Contents
Billing Policies
Collections Policies
Security Deposit Policies
BILLING POLICIES
MEMBERSHIP BILLING
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Contractor Membership Dues and PAC (Political Action Committee) Contributions are billed and will be sent to the Member Contractor by WECA Accounting by the 20th of each month for the following month's dues, and are due and payable on the 15th of each month.
For Example: A January 1, 2009 Membership Dues invoice will be mailed by December 20 and is due and payable by January 15, 2009.
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| | 15th of the Month: WECA membership dues and PAC contributions are due. If the 15th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a Holiday, dues and contributions are due the last business day prior to the 15th.
| | | Industry Partner Membership Dues are billed annually on each member's individual anniversary date and are due 15 calendar days from the invoice date.
For Example: Industry Partner A joins WECA and pays
an annual membership fee on August 1, 2009. The following July
20, he will be billed for annual Industry Partner membership
dues effective August 1, 2010 and will submit payment on or
before August 15, 2010.
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APPRENTICE TRAINING, HEALTH AND WELFARE AND PENSION (BENEFIT) CONTRIBUTIONS
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Training and Benefit contributions are not billed. During the first week of each month all Member Contractors who are approved to train and who are employing WECA apprentices will receive an "MIR Monthly Worksheet" to complete for both apprentices and journeymen.
Contractors must report all apprentice hours, as well as a minimum of one journeyman hour for each apprentice public work hour, as required by the California Labor Code, Section 1777.5. These forms are to be returned, along with payment for WECA ATC, Health and Welfare
and Pension contributions (if applicable), so they are received in the WECA Sacramento Office on or before 5pm on the 15th of the month following the month apprentices and journeymen worked. Accounts are overdue on the 16th day following the month worked, regardless of weekends and/or holidays. (Please note, copies of checks are not sufficient.)
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WECA Accounting staff will confirm and post payments for each member by the 20th of the same month the MIR Worksheet(s) and payments are received.
If a difference exists between the member contribution
calculation and the WECA contribution calculation, a
discrepancy notice will be mailed with backup no later than the
20th of same month the MIR Worksheet(s) and payments
are received.
All discrepancies are due and payable, and/or all credits must be taken, by the 15th of the following month.
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| | For Example: Contractor A mails his May Monthly Hours Worksheet(s) and payments to WECA so they are received no later than June 15.
Payments are posted by the 20th of the same month to
Contractor A’s account. A difference in the pension contribution
calculation is noted. WECA sends a discrepancy notice along
with backup no later than the 20th of the same month.
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| | Late Fees. If a member's Apprentice and Journeyman Monthly Hours Worksheet(s) and payments are not received in the WECA Sacramento Office on or before 5pm on the 15th of each month, a late fee of $100.00 per day, beginning on the 16th of the month, will be assessed for the first five days. On the 20th of the month, if a member's Worksheet(s)
have still not been received, all apprentices will be billed at the full-time rate (170 hrs), or using timecard hours submitted by apprentices and collection policies will be enforced, up to and including cancellation and removal of apprentices. Furthermore, any account in poor standing may experience increased late fees as high as $500.00 per day.
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| | Payment Methods. WECA accepts all account balance payments paid either by check or by credit card (VISA or MasterCard only).
Contractors may request an automatic monthly charge for their
apprentice contributions and by submitting the recurring credit
charge form available in our forms section. A charge will only
be initiated by WECA upon receipt of the completed MIR
monthly hours worksheet.
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TRAINEE BILLING FEES
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| | Electrician Trainee (ET) Program tuition is not billed. Prior to acceptance, each Electrician Trainee will pay a non-refundable $25.00 application processing fee and tuition for his/her initial class. No Electrician Trainees will be admitted into class without prior registration and payment.
For Example: Trainee A would like to join the ET Program. He must complete an ET Program Enrollment Form and pay a non-refundable enrollment fee of $25.00. He must also complete a Class Sign-up form and pay the correct tuition fee..
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COMMERCIAL APPRENTICE DEPENDENT COVERAGE PAYMENTS
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| | Commercial Apprentice Dependent Coverage is not billed. Payment is due by the 15th of the month prior to the month of coverage and is typically paid by the apprentice. Any payment not received by the 15th of the month is subject to action as described in WECA's Collection Policies.
For Example: January 1, 2009 dependent coverage fees should be paid by December 15, 2009.
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| | Payment Methods. WECA accepts all account balance payments paid either by check or by credit card (VISA or MasterCard only). Contractors and/or apprentices may also elect to have their credit cards charged automatically on a monthly basis.
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| | Returned Check Fee. WECA charges a fee of $25.00 for each returned check. Any account subject to a returned check fee may, at the discretion of WECA Accounting, be required to pay all future transactions by cash, credit card or money order. |
COLLECTIONS POLICIES
MEMBERSHIP DUES PAYMENTS AND POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE (PAC) CONTRIBUTIONS
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16th of the Month: If a Member Contractor's WECA dues are not received by the 15th day of the invoiced month, they are considered late.
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| | Late Payment: After the first missed payment, an invoice with a reminder note will be faxed and mailed to the member. If the payment is not received by the end of the invoiced month, a phone call will placed to the member contractor.
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| | 15th of the Following Month: If payment is not received by the 15th, the following actions will be taken:
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- Member will be cancelled from WECA
- If the member currently has apprentices in their employment, all apprentices will be pulled and dispatched to another member in good standing, or put on the OOW list.
- If member is approved-to train, WECA will notify the state of California Department of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), via Form OJT9, which revokes approved-to-train status. If the contractor reapplies for WECA membership in the future and is accepted, he or she must complete a new Form DAS 7 and submit it to WECA. This will be submitted to the State of California to be approved again to train apprentices.
For Example, Contract Members not approved to train: As of December 15th, if payment for December membership dues and contributions are not received, Contractor A will receive an invoice, with a reminder note, by fax and mail. If payment has not been received by December 31st, a call will be placed to the member contractor. If payment has still not been received by January 15th, Contractor A will be cancelled from WECA, effective January 15th.
For Example, Contractor Members who have apprentices and ATT status: As of December 15th, if payment for December membership dues and contributions are not received, Contractor A will receive an invoice, with a reminder note, by fax and mail. If payment has not been received by December 31st, a call will be placed to the member contractor. If payment has still not been received by January 15th, Contractor A will be cancelled from WECA, effective January 15th. WECA will pull all apprentices and dispatch to another contractor or put on the OOW list. WECA will also notify the state of California to revoke their ATT status.
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| | | In addition: Any member found to be chronically delinquent will be considered to be in poor standing as described in this Handbook, and may be subject to additional consequences up to and including: Removal of WECA apprentices; being required to pay a security deposit; being required to establish reoccurring credit card payment authorization; or immediate cancellation if he or she receives a warning and/or cancellation notice for the fourth time.
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| | If membership is cancelled for non-payment and a contractor wishes to reinstate membership, all accounts and collection and/or legal fees must be paid in full and a security deposit must be made, as described in WECA's Security Deposit Policies. Contractors wishing to reinstate may also be required to pay a reinstatement fee equal to one month of membership dues. If the contractor also requests to be approved to train WECA
apprentices, an additional cash security deposit per apprentice, as described in WECA's
Security Deposit Policies, will be required.
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APPRENTICE TRAINING, HEALTH AND WELFARE, AND PENSION (BENEFIT) CONTRIBUTIONS
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| | 16th of the Month: If a Member Contractor's WECA apprentice hours worked are not reported and paid by the 15th day of the month after the month worked, the member will be assessed late fees as described in WECA's Billing Policies.
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| | 16th to the 20th of the Month: WECA Accounting will implement late charges as described in WECA's Billing Policies and staff will contact the owner of the company indicating the lateness of the account and requesting payment, as well as warning of the steps that will be taken if payment is not received.
For Example: As of July 16, Contractor A has neither reported nor paid June contributions. Late fees are assessed and billed until the required
Monthly Hours Worksheet(s) and payment(s) have been received in the WECA Sacramento Office, or until the
20th of the month.
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| | 20th of the Month: If a member's WECA apprentice hours worked are not reported and paid by the 20th day of the month after the month worked, WECA will take any or all of the following actions:
- WECA will pull all Apprentices and either dispatch them to another member in good standing or put them on the OOW list
- WECA will immediately cancel the contractor's membership
- WECA will apply all security deposits against open invoices
- WECA will file a stop notice on the contractor's existing public work projects
- WECA will file a claim for judgment with the courts
- WECA will request that the contractor's contractor license be pulled
- WECA will file a complaint with the state Labor Commissioner of the contractor's failure to pay apprentice benefits
- WECA will start additional legal action (collection agency, small claims court, etc.)
- WECA will notify the State of California Department of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS), via Form OJT9, which revokes approved-to-train status. (If the contractor reapplies for WECA membership in the future and is accepted, he or she must complete a new Form DAS 7 asking to be approved to train apprentices and must submit it to WECA, which then submits it to the State of California.)
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| | In addition, any member found to be chronically delinquent (more than twice in a four (4) month period) will be put on notice and may be subject to increased late fees (up to $500.00/day), removal of WECA apprentices and/or immediate cancellation.
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| | Responsibility for Legal Fees. Any and all legal fees or collection agency fees WECA incurs due to a member contractor's inability to abide by WECA's Billing and Collection Policies will be added to the amount owed by the member contractor and will be his or her responsibility to pay.
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DEPENDENT COVERAGE PAYMENTS
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| | Dependent medical and dental coverage is
only offered by WECA to Commercial apprentices. If
an apprentice selects dependent coverage, it is his or her
responsibility to pay the monthly premium.
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| | 15th of the Month: Dependent coverage payment must be received in the WECA Sacramento Office on the 15th of each month for the following month's coverage to be confirmed.
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| | First Missed Payment:
After the first missed payment, WECA staff will notify the
apprentice of the Collections policies and potential
consequences of cancellation due to nonpayment. If dependent
coverage payment is not received by the date requested, the
dependent coverage will be cancelled and the apprentice will be
notified of the cancelled coverage along and the financial
responsibility of services used within the time period.
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| | For Example: As of February 16, Apprentice A has not paid his October dependent coverage fee. WECA staff
notify him with a reminder of collection policies. If, as of
March 16, Apprentice A has still not paid his February dependent coverage fee, his account will be subject to cancellation.
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| | In addition: Any apprentice found to be chronically delinquent in paying (more than three (3) times in a four (4) month period) may be subject to immediate cancellation of his or her dependent coverage insurance if his or her account becomes overdue a fourth time.
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| | For the purposes of these Collection Policies, "notification" may be made via telephone, mail, email, fax, or in person at the discretion of the WECA Accounting and/or Insurance staff. |
SECURITY DEPOSIT POLICIES
MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS
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All applicant contractors are subject to a credit
check to determine if it will be necessary for WECA to require a
cash security deposit equal to three times their monthly dues (in
addition to paying their first month's dues in advance).
(NOTE: It has been determined that if a security deposit is required, that the 3x monthly dues security deposit shall be calculated using both the WECA dues portion and the PAC contribution).
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| | If an applicant was previously a WECA member, his or her credit and account history for that time period will be taken into account. If he or she was cancelled for nonpayment, or incurred any legal fees that remain unpaid, these bad debt amounts must be paid in full in order to be considered for reinstatement and he or she may be required to pay a reinstatement fee equal to one month's dues.
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| | If the applicant was previously delinquent in dues more than three (3) times in a six (6) month period, he or she may be required to post a cash security deposit equal to three times the current calculated monthly dues, depending on the outcome of his or her current credit rating. If no credit rating can be confirmed, the contractor, at his or her own expense, will be allowed to obtain an alternate credit
report from an established credit agency; WECA will use that report to determine his or her current credit
rating. If a contractor is not a corporation, or if his or her business has no established credit, he/she may
be permitted to use a personal credit report to establish risk, at the discretion of the WECA Board of Directors.
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| | WECA considers any applicant whose credit check reveals a medium-high
to high-risk credit rating, or whose credit rating cannot be confirmed, to be a poor credit risk. If membership is
granted, the Member Contractor's cash security deposit will be held until: (1) membership ceases; (2) an acceptable, low-risk credit report can be produced
at the member’s expense; or (3)
when member remains in good standing for twelve (12) consecutive
months. Dues must be paid by the 15th of the invoiced
month and apprentice contributions must be paid by the 15th
of the month following the hours worked, for accounts to be
considered in good standing.
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| | If a member is cancelled for nonpayment, his or her security deposit will be applied against any and all outstanding invoices; the remainder, if any, will be returned upon completion of cancellation. Existing members in poor standing may be required to post a security deposit in order to continue their membership with WECA regardless of credit rating, as described in WECA's Collection Policies.
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APPROVED-TO-TRAIN REQUIREMENTS
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| | Before any new or existing Member Contractor can be approved to train (ATT) apprentices, he or she is subject to a credit check and review of WECA account history. If WECA Accounting conducted a credit check on the member within the past twelve (12) months, that credit check will be considered.
Those contractors with poor credit ratings and/or account history must post cash security deposits to become approved to train WECA apprentices. If WECA Accounting cannot confirm a credit rating, a contractor, at his or her own expense, will be allowed to obtain an alternate credit report from an established credit agency; WECA will use that report to determine his or her credit rating.
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CREDIT RATINGS AND APPLICATIONS TO BECOME APPROVED TO TRAIN
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| | Member Contractors whose credit ratings are:
Low- to medium-high risk do not need to post cash security deposits to train WECA apprentices.
Medium-high to high risk, or no credit rating must post cash security deposits in order to train State and Federal apprentices, determined as follows:
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1. To train Commercial apprentices the member must post a cash security deposit of $1,840.00 per apprentice. This amount is determined by calculating the highest possible current monthly contribution that may accrue over a two-month period for Health and Welfare and Pension benefits for the apprentice. (For example, the current Health and Welfare contribution for an apprentice is $3.75 per hour worked; the highest possible Pension contribution for a fifth-year apprentice is $2.00 per hour worked; multiplied by a possible 160 hours worked per month, and multiplied again by two months, equals $1,840.00.)
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| | | 2. To train Residential apprentices the member must post a cash security deposit of $480.00 per apprentice. This amount is determined by calculating the highest possible current monthly contribution that may accrue over a two-month period for training contributions paid to WECA. (For example, the current Residential training contribution is $1.50 per hour worked; multiplied by a possible 160 hours worked per month, and multiplied again by two months, equals $480.00.) Other benefits, such as Health and Welfare and Pension, are not paid through WECA, so this deposit does not include them.
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| | | 3. To train VDV apprentices the member must post
a cash security deposit of $640 per apprentice. This amount is
determined by the number of hours worked in a month (160) times
$2.00/hr training costs which equals $320, times 2 months.
(For example, the current VDV training contribution is $2.00 per
hour worked; multiplied by a possible 160 hours worked per
month, and multiplied again by two months, equals $640.00.)
Other benefits, such as Health and Welfare and Pension, are not
paid through WECA, so this deposit does not include them.
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| | Members with a medium to high credit risk, or with no credit rating, are not allowed to increase the number of WECA apprentices dispatched to them above the numbers allowed by the amounts of their cash security deposits.
Members in poor standing may be required to post a security deposit in order to maintain their ATT status, as stated in WECA's Collection Policies.
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WHAT HAPPENS TO APPROVED-TO-TRAIN CASH SECURITY DEPOSITS?
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Approved-To-Train cash security deposits made by a Member Contractor who wishes to train WECA apprentices are held by WECA for a period of one calendar year from the date they were received.
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| | If a member remains in good standing for those twelve (12) consecutive months, the cash security deposit will then be returned, or credited toward his or her future payment obligations.
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| | If a member chooses to terminate or lay off their WECA apprentice(s) for any reason, and wishes to retain his or her ATT status, any cash security deposit will not be returned until the member has remained in good standing for twelve (12) consecutive months even if he or she does not hire any other apprentice(s).
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| | If a member lays off or terminates his or her WECA apprentice(s) for any reason and wishes to cancel his or her ATT status, any cash security deposit will be returned as long as all the member's account balances with WECA and WECA ATC have been paid in full.
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| | If a member resigns from WECA, or his or her membership is cancelled, the cash security deposit will first be applied to any WECA and WECA ATC outstanding account balances. The remaining amount, if any, will be returned to the contractor.
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| | Possible Scenarios:
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| | | Contractor A, a WECA applicant, is not interested at this time in becoming approved to train and employing WECA apprentices. After finding that Contractor A has a low credit rating, WECA Accounting staff checks on his license, gets the required documents signed and submits the required paperwork to the WECA Board of Directors for approval. No cash deposit is required from Contractor A at this time.
Applicant Contractor B wants to be approved to train three (3) apprentices. WECA Accounting staff investigates her credit and prior WECA account history, if any, and discovers that Contractor B has a credit rating of medium-high to high risk. She is asked to post a cash security deposit per apprentice as previously described before she can be approved to train and receive WECA apprentices.
Contractor C has been a WECA member for two years and has recently decided to become approved to train four (4) WECA apprentices. WECA Accounting staff performs a credit check and account history review and discovers that Contractor C has a medium-high to high-risk credit rating. Due to this rating, Contractor C must post a cash security deposit per apprentice as previously described before he can be approved to train and receive WECA apprentices. If he decides to hire a fifth apprentice, or more, within the first twelve (12) months of being approved to train, he must post an additional security deposit per each additional apprentice until he has been a member in good standing for a consecutive 12-month period.
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