Many of you may have had your SELA contracts returned by the Local 47 and Employers Health &Welfare Fund (the “H&W Fund”) and/or rejected by Local 47. The reasons for these rejections vary from contract to contract.In general, some people are just not following the rules.
Making sure that the rules are strictly followed is especially important to Local 47 and the H&W Fund because if Local 47 members continue to ignore the rules for using SELAs, the H&W Fund could very well refuse to accept any contributions remitted under Local 47 SELAs. The H&W Fund insists on rigid compliance with the SELA Rules and Regulations because it is subject to random audits by the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”). The DOL can make things miserable for the H&W Fund (and jeopardize your health coverage) if the DOL finds that the H&W Fund is processing “suspect” contributions remitted under Local 47 SELAs. Therefore, we must insist that all Local 47 Rules and Regulations governing the use of SELAs – both inside and outside Local 47's jurisdiction – be followed. To summarize and highlight some of the most frequent issues we encounter at the Live Performance Department, the SELA Rules and Regulations require:
- That a covered engagement be reported in advance to the Live Performance Department;
- That the employer sign the SELA before the covered engagement takes place;
- That Local 47 approve the SELA before the covered engagement takes place;
- That if you can’t report the engagement or get the SELA signed by the employer/approved by Local 47 in advance of the covered engagement (because you got the call too soon before the gig) you have no more than 48 hours after the service to bring the SELA into the Live Performance Department for approval;
- That if you will be performing either an open ended engagement for an employer at the same venue or multiple venues, you need approval from the President or Vice President’s Office in advance of the engagement(s) or you will not be allowed to use a SELA for those gigs;
- That if you will be using a SELA outside of Local 47's jurisdiction you must get approval from the President or Vice President’s Office in advance of the engagement(s) or you will not be allowed to use a SELA for those gigs and follow the special rules (such as reporting the gig to the Local where the work is performed, remitting work dues to the Local where the work is performed, using the highest applicable scale, etc) that apply to out-of-Local 47 jurisdiction use of SELAs;
- That H&W Fund and Pension Fund, remitted by the signatory employer or the employer’s designated agent for payroll be based upon the applicable wage scale;
- That the SELA must cover all musicians performing at the gig referenced in the SELA.
As you can see, there are many rules that go along with properly using the SELA. We are urging everyone to read the rules and regulations for the SELA contract so that you can avoid having your SELA rejected by Local 47 and any employer contributions rejected by the H&W Fund and/or the Pension Fund. |