Wcribma - Veba

“The "members" of the bureau are insurance companies licensed to write workers' compensation insurance in massachusetts. The bureau is a tax-exempt entity under irc sections 501(c)(6). On december 23, 2004, the bureau formed workers' compensation rating and inspection bureau of massachusetts veba, which later became known as wcribma-veba”

“Each year, at the bureau's annual meeting the members elect at least nine but no more than eleven member representatives to serve on the governing committee. The selected governing committee members then appoint no fewer than three non-member representatives to serve on the governing committee.”

“Those elected members then appoint three (3) non-member representatives to serve on the governing committee. The bureau maintains records of governing committee meetings and at each annual meeting the members of the bureau ratify, confirm, and approve all acts of the governing committee.”

“The bureau's budget/personnel overview committee, appointed by the governing committee, reviews a final form of the form 990 prior to actual filing. Members of the external audit and tax firm (currently aaf cpas) initially discuss, prepare and review the return with the management team of the bureau. Once the tax return is fully analyzed and reviewed by the management team, a paper copy is distributed to the budget/personnel overview committee members in advance of a specified meeting. Subsequently, aaf's tax group representatives meet with the management team and members of the budget/personnel overview committee in order to ensure all persons have had an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the content of the tax return,prior to the deadline. After the budget/personnel overview committee members complete their review and approve the form, it is sent to the entire governing committee for their review and comment prior to the filing of the form.”

“The organization is integrally related to the tax exempt bureau and therefore follows the bureau's conflict of interest policy. The bureau maintains both a workers' compensation rating and inspection bureau of massachusetts conflict of interest policy for employees, and a workers' compensation rating and inspection bureau of massachusetts conflict of interest policy for officers and members of the governing committee ("policies"). Under these policies, employees, officers and members of the governing committee are required to execute (and submit to the bureau's general counsel) an annual disclosure statement which states that they received, read, and understand the conflict of interest policy; they understand that the bureau is a non-profit entity, which must not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status; that the bureau must be operated for the purposes stated in the bureau's constitution and the assigned risk pool plan of operation; and that the bureau must be operated at all times in accordance with antitrust laws. They agree to comply with the policy and acknowledge that they have nothing to disclose which is in conflict with the established policy. Should any change occur in their situation, they shall submit a further disclosure statement covering the same. Once each year the bureau's general counsel will also remind employees, officers and members of the governing committee of their obligation to submit a further disclosure statement if any change occurs in their situation. If any annual statement contains a disclosure of a conflict, or if a further statement is submitted, the general counsel will follow the procedures set forth in the policies.”

“The organization's trustees are also officers of their related tax exempt organization, the bureau. Compensation for these individuals is determined according to the bureau's constitution. In accordance with the bureau's constitution, the governing committee directly determines the salary of the president. As part of the budget process, the governing committee established a salary administration program to identify and pay the appropriate competitive level of compensation to the bureau president. The compensation that is established is based on comparable industry data. The program includes annual salary range adjustments to remain current with the market value of the position. At the end of each fiscal year, the governing committee chair and vice chair review the performance of the bureau president and, along with the full governing committee, establish the new compensation for that position based on market driven salary range data and measured performance. The committee also sets goals and performance measures for the following year. Pursuant to the bureau constitution, the compensation of all other bureau officers, as well as other bureau employees, is established as part of the annual budget approval process whereby their budget/personnel overview committee reviews and discusses the employee salary administration program which was approved by the budget/personnel overview committee and governing committee. The budget includes recommendations of any required salary range movements as well as the merit increase guidelines for the upcoming year. The salary administration program is updated annually. The compensation data that is included in the salary administration program for officers is provided by two (2) independent third party compensation consulting firms. These independent consultants conduct surveys of other employers, with an emphasis on employers in the insurance-related industries who are in the northeast and, wherever possible, those with similar revenues to the bureau. As a result, the compensation of the bureau's most senior executives is consistent with the prevailing market rates for similar positions. After the budget/personnel overview committee votes to approve the salary budget, including any amendments they may make, it is then presented to the governing committee for review and discussion as part of the full bureau budget. After review, discussions and any further amendments, the governing committee votes on the budget.”

“A description of the organization's conflict of interest policy and the financial and governing information of the organization are reported in the form 990, which is available at www.guidestar.org.”