MEMORANDUM & ORDER On June 4, 2021, Petitioner Dr. Gerald R. Finkel, as Chairman of the Joint Industry Board of the Electrical Industry (“Finkel” and/or the “JIB”), filed a petition (the “Petition”) to confirm and enforce an arbitrator’s award (the “Award”) rendered on March 31, 2021 against Respondent JCF Electric, Inc. (“Respondent”). (ECF Docket Entry (“D.E.”) #1 (“Pet.”).) The Award was rendered pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) between Local Union #3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (the “Union”) and Respondent. To date, Respondent has neither responded to Finkel’s confirmation action nor otherwise sought to challenge the Award. For the reasons set forth below, the unopposed petition to confirm the arbitration award and the related request for attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing this action are GRANTED. BACKGROUND The following facts are taken from the Petition and exhibits thereto and presumed true because no response to the Petition has been filed and the time in which to do so has expired. I. The Plans Finkel is Chairman of the JIB, which is the administrator of various employee benefit multi-employer plans established and maintained pursuant to a CBA between the Union and Respondent. (Pet. 4.) The JIB is the administrator and fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) of each of the following employee benefit plans: the Pension, Hospitalization and Benefit Plan of the Electrical Industry, the Dental Benefit Fund of the Electrical Industry, the Educational and Cultural Trust Fund of the Electrical Industry, the Annuity Plan of the Electrical Industry, the Health Reimbursement Account Plan of the Electrical Industry, the Deferred Salary Plan of the Electrical Industry, the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Program, and the National Electrical Benefit Plan (“NEBF”) (collectively, the “ERISA Plans”). (Id. 5.) The ERISA Plans are jointly administered by a board of trustees that is comprised of labor and management representatives who share equal representation in the administration of the Plans in accordance with the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947. (Id. 7.) Pursuant to the CBA, the JIB may also collect dues assessments on behalf of the Union, employee loan payments due to the Union and certain plans, contributions to fund the operations of the JIB, and contributions for the following plans: the Electrical Employers Self Insurance Safety Plan, the Committee on Political Education, and the Benefit and Wage Delinquency Fund (the “Non-ERISA Plans”). (D.E. # 1-8 at 2-3.) The JIB is the administrator of both the ERISA and Non-ERISA Plans (collectively, the “Plans”). II. The Collective Bargaining Agreement As a member of the New York Electrical Contractors Association, Respondent agreed to be bound to the CBA with the Union for the period April 10, 2019 through April 13, 2022. (Pet.
14-15.) Under the CBA, Respondent was required to make certain contributions to the Plans and to the Union for all work within the trade and geographical jurisdiction of the Union, and to submit weekly payroll reports that provide the name, gross wages, and hours worked for each worker employed by the company on whose behalf the contributions are made. (Id. 16, Ex. B.) The CBA also provides that an employer “shall be liable for the remedies under Section 502(g)(2) of ERISA, including liquidated damages in an amount not in excess of 20 percent, in the event of entry of judgment against the Employer in an action to collect delinquent contributions.”1 (Id. 18.) Through the CBA, Respondent also agreed to “be bound by the provisions of the Plan and Trust documents and all amendments thereto…including but not limited to, the Policy for the Collection of Delinquent Contributions….” (Id. 17, Ex. B, Ex. C.) The Policy for the Collection of Delinquent Contributions (“Collection Policy”) provides, among other things, that (1) an employer shall be liable for liquidated damages and attorneys’ fees and costs if legal action is commenced, and (2) interest on delinquent contributions is to be calculated at the rate set forth in Section 6621 of the Internal Revenue Code, except for contributions to the NEBF, which calculates interest at a rate of 10 percent. (Id.
