The benefits provided by the Annual Benefit Plan shall be governed by collective bargaining between the Union and contributing Employers. The Plan shall pay such vacation, holiday, sick leave, training, bereavement, jury duty and educational benefits as are specified in the Collective Bargaining Agreement covering your place of work. If the Collective Bargaining Agreement does not specifically describe the benefits to be provided by the Plan, or provides that such benefits shall be those specified under the Plan's "Standard Benefit Package", Employees covered by that Collective Bargaining Agreement shall receive the benefits contained in the "Standard Benefit Package".

The Standard Benefit Package of the ITPEU Annual Benefit Plan provides holiday pay, sick pay, vacation pay, training pay, bereavement pay, jury duty pay and educational benefits to employees of employers who are bound by a collective bargaining agreement to make contributions to the ITPEU Annual Benefit Fund.

No benefits will be paid for any period of time during which an Employer is more than two months delinquent in remitting its contributions to the Fund. However, such benefits will be paid as soon as such delinquency is eliminated. The Board of Trustees of the ITPEU Annual Benefit Fund shall make a good faith effort to take all legal action necessary to enforce collection of any unpaid contributions.

In addition the Trustees, in their absolute discretion, may provide an annual 'Special Benefit' to eligible Employees.

To obtain any benefit from the Plan, you must be eligible for such benefit. For the most part, you must make a written application to obtain all benefits. The exceptions relate to holiday pay and Special Benefits. You must make application for your first payment of holiday benefits. Thereafter, holiday pay will be paid automatically on a monthly basis to all participants who are eligible for such benefit, provided the required contributions have been received on their behalf.

When authorized by the Trustees, Special Benefits shall be paid automatically to eligible employees. A written application must be submitted to obtain all other benefits provided by the Annual Benefit Fund.

Applications may be obtained through the Fund office. Your Employer should have applications on hand. If not, you may contact the Fund Office or you may download an application from the Fund's website at www.itpeubenefits.org

Such application must be signed by you and must also be signed by a Union Representative or by an authorized representative of your Employer. Any application which is not properly signed will not be processed and will be returned to you.

All benefits are payable by check and will be mailed to the address which appears on your application.

Applications should be mailed or delivered to the Fund Office at:

ITPEU Annual Benefit Fund
575 8th Avenue, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018-3107

An eligible Employee shall be entitled to receive holiday pay in an amount equal to eight (8) hours of the Employee's regular hourly rate of pay, excluding overtime, for each of the following holidays each calendar year: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and 2 Floater Days.

If an Employee is not employed on any of these holidays because of a lack of work, such Employee shall nonetheless receive holiday pay for such holiday if such Employee was actively working in the month immediately before the holiday and has worked within forty-five (45) days after the holiday. If an Employee is working on the date of a holiday, and the Employee's employer does not observe such holiday, then such Employee shall nonetheless receive holiday pay for such holiday from the Annual Benefit Plan.

If the Employer has a past practice of observing Columbus Day or Veterans Day and continuing to pay on such a day, such employee may claim such Columbus Day or Veterans Day or in place of a Floater Day. The application for holiday benefits must identify whether such Employee is claiming Columbus Day or Veterans Day in place of a Floater Day or whether such Employee is claiming two floater days.

An eligible Employee shall be entitled to receive vacation pay upon application to the Fund Office.

Vacation benefits are available to employees who have one year of service. An employee shall be considered to have one year of service upon the completion of at least 1,500 hours worked in the most recent twelve consecutive month period at the time of submitting the application for vacation benefits, or at least 1,500 hours worked in the prior calendar year.

The amount of vacation pay due an eligible Employee shall be governed by the number of hours worked by such Employee in the last full calendar year or in the most recent twelve month period for which such Employee has accumulated 1,500 hours, as follows:

Your vacation benefits may be claimed and paid at any time provided you meet the eligibility requirements at the time of submitting your Application. You do not have to wait until you actually take your vacation.

An eligible Employee shall accrue sick leave pay at the rate of one (1) hour of sick leave for each forty (40) hours worked. Sick leave shall be paid at the hourly rate of pay which was in effect at the time the hours were worked. Sick leave may be accumulated to a maximum of eighty (80) hours.

Sick leave benefits can be claimed and paid at any time provided you meet the eligibility requirements at the time of submitting your Application. You do not have to wait until you are actually sick. In addition, you do not have to claim all your accrued sick leave at one time.

Commencing March 1, 2003, an inactive Employee who has accrued but unused sick leave benefits shall forfeit such benefits if such Employee has not submitted an application for such benefits within thirteen (13) months from the last contribution made on his/her behalf to the Annual Benefit Fund, and the Fund, in the exercise of due diligence, is unable to locate such Employee. Please make sure that the Fund Office always has your correct address.

An eligible Employee who attends training sessions which have been approved by the Trustees shall be entitled to training pay at a rate of eight (8) hours at the Employee's hourly rate of pay, excluding overtime, for each day the Employee attends such training session. The Trustees, however, reserve the right, in their absolute discretion, to modify the training pay provided to any particular Employee.

An eligible Employee must submit an application for training pay after attending any qualified training sessions. Along with the application, proper documentation of the training session must be submitted, including proof of attendance and proof of satisfactory completion of the training.

An eligible Employee shall be entitled to three (3) days bereavement pay at the Employee's hourly rate of pay, excluding overtime, upon the death of a member of the Employee's immediate family. For purposes of this bereavement benefit, immediate family includes: spouse, parent, child, brother, sister, mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandparent or grandchild of the Employee.

Documentation of the family relationship and death must be submitted with your application.

An eligible Employee shall be entitled to jury duty pay at the rate of eight (8) hours at the Employee's hourly rate of pay, excluding overtime, for each day the employee reports to the court for jury duty or is present in court pursuant to a subpoena, provided that such Employee does not receive pay for such day from his/her Employer. This benefit is payable for a maximum of ten (10) days in any calendar year.

Documentation of attendance at court must be submitted with your application for jury duty pay benefits.

The Trustees have authorized an Educational Benefit for any calendar year. Educational Benefits are payable to Employees who are actively working and who submit an application accompanied by the required documentation.

Educational benefits are available for courses or programs taken by an Employee or the Employee's dependent children. The Trustees, in their discretion, will determine which education expenses qualify for reimbursement, the percentage of such qualified expenses to be reimbursed and any maximum cap on reimbursements.

Verification of the cost and satisfactory completion of any courses will be required at the time of submission of your application for educational benefits.

Applications for Educational Benefits must be filed each year by February 1 for educational expenses incurred during the prior calendar year. While the Trustees reserve the right to consider late applications, submitting your application timely increases the likelihood of receiving the requested benefits. YOU SHOULD TRY YOUR BEST TO SUBMIT ANY APPLICATION FOR EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS AND ANY REQUIRED SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS BY FEBRUARY 1 IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS IN THE CURRENT CALENDAR YEAR.

Contact the Fund Office for further details on what courses or programs qualify for such benefits and what documentation will be required.

The Trustees, in their absolute discretion, may provide an annual 'Special Benefit' to eligible Employees. This Special Benefit, if any, shall be paid automatically to eligible Employees. Employees do not need to submit an application to receive such benefit.

Yes. The Trustees are also authorized to make payment on your behalf of dues, initiation fees and assessments to Local 3, I.B.E.W., working dues to the I.B.E.W., dues to the ITPEU and assessments to the Building Trades Council, provided that such payments have been properly authorized by you and have been provided for by your Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Yes. All benefits paid to you by the ITPEU Annual Benefit Fund are wages that are taxable. You will receive a Form W-2 from the ITPEU Annual Benefit Fund each January for the payments of benefits made to you during the preceding calendar year.

Employees who work in the season outdoor employment classifications (ie. Golf Irrigation Technician) may be eligible for unemployment insurance during periods when they are not working.

If you believe that you are in a seasonal employment classification, you should contact the New York State Department of Labor during your off season to establish whether you may be entitled to any unemployment insurance benefits.

If you currently receive better vacation, holiday or sick leave benefits from the ITPEU Annual Benefit Fund than those provided under the Standard Benefit Package, you will continue to receive such better benefits. The terms of your current benefits are explained in your Collective Bargaining Agreement. For any questions, please contact the Fund Office.

If you are entitled to benefits better than those provided under the Standard Benefit Package and your Employer becomes delinquent in making its required contributions to the Fund, you will only be entitled to receive benefits in accordance with the Standard Benefit Package until such time as your Employer is no longer delinquent.

The Holiday Benefit - You must submit an Application during your first ninety (90) calendar days of employment for your initial payment of holiday benefits. After your initial Application, holiday benefits will be paid automatically if the required employer contributions have been made.

The Sick Leave Benefit - You may submit an Application at any time while you are an active Employee for all sick leave benefits for which you are eligible. (Once you become inactive, you have thirteen months from the date of your last contribution made on your behalf to the Annual Benefit Fund within which to file an Application for your sick leave benefits. If you do not file such an Application within thirteen months and the Fund, after due diligence, is unable to locate you, such benefits will be forfeited.)

The Vacation Benefit - You may submit an Application for your vacation benefits after your one year anniversary (meaning after you have accumulated at least 1,500 hours worked in the prior calendar year or in the most recent twelve month period). You may submit such an Application at any time while you are an active Employee.

The Training Pay Benefit - You may submit an Application for training pay after you have received the qualified training.

The Bereavement Benefit or Jury Duty Pay Benefit - You may submit an Application for bereavement pay or jury duty pay after the leave has been taken.

The Educational Benefit - You should try your best to submit any Application for Educational Benefits and any required supporting documents by February 1 in order to qualify for Educational Benefits in the current calendar year.

Yes. While the rules are somewhat complex, they basically focus on whether or not you are an active or inactive Employee at the time of filing your application. Again, there are also different rules that apply to benefits accrued before November 1, 2001 as compared with benefits accrued on or after November 1, 2001.

If you are an active Employee (meaning that contributions are currently being made to the Annual Benefit Fund on your behalf), you may file an application at any time for any benefit to which you are entitled. However, once you become an inactive Employee the following time limits for filing an application will apply:

Benefits accrued before November 1, 2001:

• Sick Leave - Application must be filed within sixty (60) months from the last contribution made on behalf of an Employee. Thereafter, all accrued and unpaid sick leave benefits will be automatically forfeited if the Fund has attempted to mail payment and such mailing has been returned because the last known address of such Employee is no longer accurate and the Fund can not locate such Employee in the exercise of due diligence.
• All Other Benefits - Application must be filed within 60 months from the last contribution made on behalf of an Employee.

Benefits accrued on or after November 1, 2001:

• Sick Leave - Application must be filed within thirteen (13) months from the last contribution made on behalf of an Employee. Thereafter, all accrued and unpaid sick leave benefits will be automatically forfeited if the Fund has attempted to mail payment and such mailing has been returned because the last known address of such Employee is no longer accurate and the Fund can not locate such Employee in the exercise of due diligence.
• All Other Benefits - Application must be filed within 13 months from the last contribution made on behalf of an Employee. Thereafter, all such accrued and unpaid benefits will be automatically forfeited if the Fund has attempted to mail payment and such mailing has been returned because the last known address of such Employee is no longer accurate and the Fund can not locate such Employee in the exercise of due diligence.

If a deceased Employee dies while actively working or dies while being eligible for any benefits from the Fund, such Employee's beneficiary must file an application for such benefits within 60 months from the date of death of such Employee. If such application is not filed within such 60 month period, all of such Employee's accrued and unpaid benefits will be automatically forfeited if the Fund has attempted to mail payment to the beneficiary and such mailing has been returned because the last known address of such beneficiary is no longer accurate and the Fund can not locate such beneficiary in the exercise of due diligence.

Yes. It is very important that every application which is submitted to the Annual Benefit Fund office be properly signed by both you and a Union Representative or an authorized representative of your Employer. Such applications must be complete and accurate. Applications which are not properly signed will not be processed. Applications which are incomplete or inaccurate will delay the processing of such applications.

No. Each type of benefit will be issued in a separate check. Furthermore, if you claim more than one occurrence of a particular type of benefit in one application (e.g., jury duty pay for 5 days), you will receive a separate check for each occurrence. (In the case of jury duty, you would receive 5 separate checks, one for each day that you performed jury duty.)

All payments of benefits are made by check and are mailed to the address provided by you on your application for benefits. If any such check is returned to the Fund office as undeliverable, the Fund Office will make good faith efforts to locate you and forward such check to you.

It is your responsibility to keep the Fund Office informed of your correct address.

Generally no. However, the Trustees are required by law to honor and comply with the terms of a Qualified Domestic Relations Order and Federal and State tax levies.

In addition, the Trustees will honor child support Orders issued by a court of competent jurisdiction. See Sections 1.13 and 3.05 of the Plan Document for more information.

Yes. There are circumstances under which benefits can be forfeited. However, these circumstances only apply to inactive Employees or in the event of the death of an Employee. Again, there are different rules for benefits accrued before November 1, 2001 and benefits accrued on or after November 1, 2001.

Benefits accrued before November 1, 2001: The benefits of an inactive Employee will be forfeited if such Employee does not apply for any benefit for which he or she is eligible within sixty (60) months from the date of his or her termination from employment, provided that the Fund office, after the exercise of due diligence, has been unable to locate such Employee.

Benefits accrued on or after November 1, 2001: The benefits of an inactive or deceased Employee shall be forfeited if, after 13 months from the last contribution made to the Fund on behalf of such Employee, no application has been filed for such benefits and the Fund's efforts to mail payment of benefits to such Employee have been unsuccessful because the last known address of such Employee is no longer accurate and the Fund can not locate such Employee in the exercise of due diligence.

Please provide a copy of this booklet to your family so that they will be aware of the necessity to make prompt application for your benefits in the event of your death.

In the event it is determined to the satisfaction of the Trustees that an Employee or Beneficiary is unable to care for his or her affairs because of mental or physical incapacity, any payment of accrued benefits due such Employee may be applied, in the discretion of the Trustees, to the maintenance and support of such Employee or Beneficiary.

Please review Section 3.04 of the Plan for a complete explanation of the handling of such a 'disability.'

If your application for any benefits provided by the Annual Benefit Plan is denied, in whole or in part, you have the right to be provided with notice in writing which sets forth the specific reasons for such denial.

If you disagree with such denial you have the right to appeal such denial by filing a written request for review of such denial with the Trustees within 180 days after your receipt of the notice of denial. Such appeal shall be considered by a person or committee designated by the Trustees. The decision of such person or committee shall be communicated to you within 180 days after the Trustees receive all pertinent evidence and materials which you submit in connection with your appeal.

As a participant in the ITPEU Annual Benefit Plan, you are entitled to certain rights and protections under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). ERISA provides that all plan participants shall be entitled to:

• Examine, without charge, at the plan administrator's office and at other specified locations, such as union offices, all plan documents, including insurance contracts, collective bargaining agreements and copies of all documents filed by the plan with the U.S. Department of Labor, such as detailed annual reports and plan descriptions.
• Obtain copies of all plan documents and other plan information upon written request to the plan administrator. The administrator may make a reasonable charge for the copies.
• Receive a summary of the plan's annual financial report. The plan administrator is required by law to furnish each participant with a copy of this summary annual report.

In addition to creating rights for the plan participants, ERISA imposes duties upon the people who are responsible for the operation of the plan. The people who operate your plan, called "fiduciaries" of the plan, have a duty to do so prudently and in the interest of you and other plan participants and beneficiaries. No one, including your employer, your union, or any other person, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a benefit under the plan or exercising your right under ERISA.

If your claim for a benefit is denied in whole or in part, you must receive a written explanation of the reason(s) for the denial. You have the right to have the plan review and reconsider your claim. Under ERISA there are steps you can take to enforce the above rights. For instance, if you request materials from the Plan and do not receive them within 30 days, you may file suit in a federal court. In such a case, the court may require the plan administrator to provide the materials and pay you up to $100 a day until you receive the materials, unless the materials were not sent because of reasons beyond the control of the plan administrator.

If you have a claim for benefit which is denied in whole or in part, you may file suit in a state or federal court. If it should happen that plan fiduciaries misuse the plan's money, or if you are discriminated against for asserting your rights, you may seek assistance from the U.S. Department of Labor, or you may file suit in a federal court. The court will decide who should pay court costs and legal fees. If you are successful, the court may order the persons you have sued to pay these costs and fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay these costs and fees, for example, if it finds your claim is frivolous.

If you have any question about your plan, you should contact the plan administrator. If you have any questions about this statement, or about your rights under ERISA, you should contact the nearest Area Office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor.

• You must submit an Application during your first ninety (90) calendar days of employment for your initial payment of holiday benefits (after your initial Application, holiday benefits will be paid automatically if the required employer contributions have been made);
• You may submit an Application at any time while you are an active Employee for all sick leave benefits for which you are eligible;
• You may submit an Application for your vacation benefits after your one year anniversary at any time while you are an active Employee;
• You may submit an Application for training pay after you have received the qualified training;
• You may submit an Application for bereavement pay or jury duty pay after the leave has been taken;
• You should try your best to submit any Application for Educational Benefits and any required supporting documents by February 1 in order to qualify for Educational Benefits in the current calendar year.