Note 16 - Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

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. 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 for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020 were $17.7 million, $19.1 million and $17.6 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, 2022, 2021 and 2020.

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. Our NQDC Plan obligations are funded through a Rabbi Trust which was fully funded as of December 31, 2022. The assets held by the Rabbi Trust at December 31, 2022 and 2021 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, 2022, there were 63 active participants in the NQDC Plan. NQDC Plan obligations were $23.1 million and $32.7 million as of  December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and were primarily included in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets. In addition, we had supplemental retirement benefits of $3.7 million and $4.9 million in other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Multi-employer Pension Plans: As of  December 31, 2022, three of our wholly-owned subsidiaries, Granite Construction Company, Layne Christensen Company 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		2022	2021	FIP / RP Status Pending / Implemented (2)	2022		2021		2020		Surcharge Imposed	Expiration Date of Collective Bargaining Agreement (3)
Operating Engineers Pension Trust Fund		95-6032478	Yellow	Yellow	Yes	$	4,768	$	5,266	$	5,239	No	6/30/2025
Locals 302 and 612 IUOE-Employers Construction Industry Retirement Plan		91-6028570	Green	Green	No		5,204		4,744		3,658	No	3/31/2023 5/31/2024 5/31/2025
Pension Trust Fund for Operating Engineers		94-6090764	Yellow	Yellow	Yes		9,783		10,095		10,001	No	3/31/2023 6/30/2023 9/30/2023 1/31/2024 6/30/2024 10/31/2024 3/31/2025
All other funds (53 as of December 31, 2022)							18,270		21,517		20,572
				Total contributions:		$	38,025	$	41,622	$	39,470

(1) The most recent PPA zone status available in 2022 and 2021 is for the plan’s year-end during 2021 and 2020, 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, our 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.