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ERISA Rights

As a Participant in the Teamsters 170 Health and Welfare Fund (the Plan), you have certain rights and protection under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (as amended) (“ERISA”).

ERISA provides that all Plan Participants are entitled to:

Examine, free of charge, all the official documents related to the Plan (including insurance contracts and copies of all documents filed by the Plan with the U.S. Department of Labor, such as detailed annual reports and Plan descriptions). These documents are available for review in the Fund Office during regular business hours.

Obtain copies of all documents pertaining to the Plan upon written request to the Plan Administrator. The administrator may charge a reasonable fee for copies.

Receive a summary of the Plan’s annual financial report. By law, the Plan Administrator must furnish each Participant with a copy of this summary annual report.

File suit in Federal Court, if any materials requested are not received within 30 days of your request, unless the materials were not sent for reasons beyond the control of the Plan Administrator. The court may require the Plan Administrator to pay up to $100 for each day’s delay until the materials are received.
The Plan is comprised of several separate documents, which constitute the ERISA Plan. COBRA and HIPAA, if fact, are part of the ERISA Legislation. The Agreement and Declaration of Trust of the Teamsters Local 170 Health and Welfare Fund (Trust Agreement), describes the authority and responsibility of the fiduciaries in administering and operating the Plan. This SPD describes the benefits available to participants and their rights to those benefits. The plan also includes various insurance contracts/policies for benefits that are funded through insurance.
In addition to creating rights for plan participants. ERISA imposes duties upon the people responsible for the operation of a plan. These persons are called “fiduciaries”. Plan fiduciaries must operate a plan prudently and in the interest. Of you and other plan participants and beneficiaries. Fiduciaries who violate ERISA may be removed and required to make good any losses they have caused a plan.

No one, including your employer, your Union or any other persons, may fire you or otherwise discriminate against you in any way to prevent you from obtaining a plan benefit or exercising your rights under ERISA.

If you believe you are improperly denied a plan benefit in full or in part, you have the right to file suit in a federal or state court. If plan fiduciaries misuse a 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.

If you are successful in your suit, the court may order the person you have sued to pay court costs and legal fees. If you lose, the court may order you to pay the costs and fees if, for example, it finds your claim is frivolous.

If you have any questions about the benefit plan, contact the Plan Administrator. If you have any questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, contact the nearest area office of the U.S. Labor–Management Services Administration, Department of Labor.

If you have any questions about this statement or about your rights under ERISA, you should contact the nearest office of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, listed in your telephone directory or The Boston Regional Office:

JFK Bldg. Room 575
Boston, MA 02203
Phone: 617-565-6900

or

The Division of Technical Assistance and Inquiries
Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration
U.S. Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue N.W
Washington, D.C. 20210

If you believe you are entitled to a benefit under the Teamsters Health and Welfare Fund program, you may have to file a claim for such benefit. The procedures for filing a claim may vary with the benefit. If the claim procedure if not explained in the appropriate benefit section, call the Fund Office for an explanation.