Note 16 - Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Notes to Financial Statements

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

16. Employee Benefit Plans

Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan: The Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”) is a defined contribution plan covering all employees except employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and certain employees of our CCJVs. Each employee’s combined pre-tax 401(k) and post-tax (Roth) contributions cannot exceed 50% of their eligible pay or Internal Revenue Code annual contribution limits. Our 401(k) matching contributions can be up to 6% of an employee’s gross pay at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Our 401(k) matching contributions to the 401(k) Plan related to our continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019 were $14.2 million, $13.3 million and $12.8 million, respectively. Profit sharing contributions from the Company may be made to the 401(k) Plan in an amount determined by the Board of Directors. We made no profit sharing contributions during the years ended December 31, 2021, 2020 and 2019.

Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan: We offer a Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan (“NQDC Plan”) to a select group of our highly compensated employees and non-employee directors. The NQDC Plan provides participants the opportunity to defer payment of certain compensation as defined in the NQDC Plan. In October 2008, a Rabbi Trust was established to fund our NQDC Plan obligation and was fully funded as of December 31, 2021. The assets held by the Rabbi Trust at December 31, 2021 and 2020 are substantially in the form of Company-owned life insurance and are included in other noncurrent assets in the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2021, there were 57 active participants in the NQDC Plan. NQDC Plan obligations were $32.7 million and $30.0 million as of  December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and were primarily included in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. In addition, we had supplemental retirement benefits of $4.9 million and $5.3 million in other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.

Multi-employer Pension Plans: As of  December 31, 2021, three of our wholly-owned subsidiaries within our continuing operations, Granite Construction Company, Granite Construction Northeast, Inc. and Granite Industrial, Inc. contribute to various multi-employer pension plans on behalf of union employees. The risks of participating in these multiemployer plans are different from single-employer plans in the following aspects:

• Assets contributed to the multi-employer plan by one employer may be used to provide benefits to employees of other participating employers.

• If a participating employer stops contributing to the plan, the unfunded obligations of the plan may be borne by the remaining participating employers.

• If we chose to stop participating in some of the multi-employer plans, we may be required to pay those plans an amount based on the underfunded status of the plan, referred to as a withdrawal liability.

The following table presents our participation in these plans (dollars in thousands):

			Pension Protection Act (“PPA”) Certified Zone Status (1)			Contributions
Pension Trust Fund	Pension Plan Employer Identification Number		2020	2019	FIP / RP Status Pending / Implemented (2)	2021		2020		2019		Surcharge Imposed	Expiration Date of Collective Bargaining Agreement (3)
Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund		95-6032478	Yellow	Yellow	Yes	$	5,266	$	5,239	$	4,508	No	6/30/2022
Locals 302 and 612 IUOE-Employers Construction Industry Retirement Plan		91-6028571	Green	Green	No		336		263		5,479	No	5/31/2022 3/31/2023 5/31/2024
Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers Pension Plan		94-6090764	Yellow	Yellow	Yes		10,095		10,001		10,569	No	6/30/2022 3/31/2023 6/30/2023 9/30/2023 2/28/2024 6/30/2024 10/31/2024 3/31/2025
All other funds (54 as of December 31, 2021)							23,400		22,264		23,660
				Total contributions:		$	39,097	$	37,767	$	44,216

(1) The most recent PPA zone status available in 2021 and 2020 is for the plan’s year-end during 2020 and 2019, respectively. The zone status is based on information that we received from the plan and is certified by the plan’s actuary. Among other factors, plans in the red zone are generally less than 65 percent funded, plans in the orange zone are less than 80 percent funded and have an Accumulated Funding Deficiency in the current year or projected into the next six years, plans in the yellow zone are less than 80 percent funded, and plans in the green zone are at least 80 percent funded.

(2) The “FIP/RP Status Pending/Implemented” column indicates plans for which a financial improvement plan (“FIP”) or a rehabilitation plan (“RP”) is either pending or has been implemented.

(3) Lists the expiration date(s) of the collective-bargaining agreement(s) to which the plans are subject. Pension trust funds with a range of expiration dates have various collective bargaining agreements.

Based upon the most recently available annual reports, the Company’s contribution to each of the individually significant plans listed in the table above was less than 5% of each plan’s total contributions. We currently have no intention of withdrawing from any of the multi-employer pension plans in which we participate that would result in a significant withdrawal liability. In addition, we do not have any significant future obligations or funding requirements related to these plans other than the ongoing contributions that are paid as hours are worked by plan participants.