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Developments in 2024 affecting jointly administered apprenticeship funds, sometimes referred to as Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (“JATCs”), include proposed apprenticeship regulations, mental health of apprentices, and new cybersecurity guidelines. 

1. Proposed Apprenticeship Regulation Overhaul

• JATCs must provide each apprentice with at least 144 hours of classroom instruction for every 2,000 hours of on-the-job training.
• Apprenticeship programs would have additional recordkeeping requirements and must allow their Registration Agency access to those records.
• Pre-apprenticeship programs must register and provide information to the DOL.
• Apprenticeship agreements must contain certain terms, such as detailed provisions regarding the wage scale, the minimum number of hours for on-the-job training, a description of benefits, a breakdown of unreimbursed costs and more. The agreement must be cancelable by the apprentice “at any time” or by the “program sponsor only for good cause” (emphasis added).

JATC fiduciaries and plan sponsors should closely monitor the status of this proposed rule, as substantial changes are expected in the final version.

2. Mental Health

As with other industries, the building trades have seen a rise in demand for mental health services; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that construction and mining workers are more likely to die by suicide or opioid overdose than workers in other professions.

JATCs address these problems by referring apprentices to community services offered by the union, participating employer, or ancillary training program. JATCs can employ the following best practices when assisting apprentices with mental health issues and instilling a culture of mental health awareness:

• Partnering with in-network mental health professionals to offer information and educational sessions related to mental health issues.
• Offering a mental health course that informs apprentices on the available resources and encourages their use as part of the onboarding curriculum.
• Implementing employee assistance programs offering short-term counseling, mental health assessments and stress management, as well as facilitating referrals or follow-up services.

In addition, JATCs should enact policies and procedures regarding mental health to ensure that the JATC and its staff are prepared to handle mental health incidents and the associated protected health information generated in addressing mental health incidents and treating mental health disorders.

3. Cybersecurity

In 2021, the DOL’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) issued guidance to retirement plans, detailing cybersecurity best practices. On September 6, 2024, EBSA issued additional guidance stating that these best practices now should be implemented by all employee benefit plans, including JATCs (which are welfare plans under ERISA).¹  This can be problematic, as many JATCs do not have the means to enact some of the more costly best practice recommendations.

EBSA provided six tips for hiring service providers that focus on evaluating the service provider’s cybersecurity practices, such as information security and breach notification processes. The guidance also includes contract provisions JATCs should be looking for in their service provider agreements, including requiring insurance, defining how participant data will be used, and avoiding language that limits service provider liability for breaches.

The Cybersecurity Program Best Practices provides 12 best practices that now clearly apply to JATCs since most JATCs are self-administered and house most of their own data. The best practices recommend having a well-documented cybersecurity program, conducting cybersecurity training and risk assessments, encrypting sensitive data, and following a cybersecurity incident response plan.

The Online Security Tips include a standard compilation of best practices for reducing risk of fraud, including setting complicated passwords, removing inactive account users, avoiding free wireless Internet hotspots, and implementing multifactor authentication.

If you have any questions about new apprenticeship developments or would like assistance implementing best practices or creating new processes for evaluating service providers, please contact a member of our Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation group.

¹ https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ebsa/ebsa20240906-0