Impacts Many Public and Private Works Construction Contractors
Thirty-eight states added construction jobs between March 2018 and March 2019, while construction employment increased in 29 states between February and March, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released today. Association officials said the widespread gains show demand for workers remains strong and urged federal officials to enact immigration reforms to boost the supply of qualified workers.
Join more than 300 construction safety, health and environmental professionals at the first ever 勛圖窪蹋厙 Construction Safety, Health & Environmental Conference taking place July 23 25, 2019 in Seattle, WA.
Suggests improvements based on contractor feedback
According to the latest Contractor Compensation Quarterly (CCQ) published by PAS, Inc., construction executive staff wage increases came in at 4.1% for 2018 and are projected to rise by an average 3.8% by 2019 year end. Though the projected 2019 increase is 3.8%, it is pointed out that historically executive staff predictions are low, so year-end 2019 increases might come in even as high as 4.3% to 4.5%.
The Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC) has released a revised version of its annual Trends & Outlook Report now renamed Union Labor Costs in Construction. The report includes general and detailed information about trends in collectively bargained compensation in the industry, including data analyses by region, by time, and by trade. It can be a valuable resource when preparing for collective bargaining negotiations, particularly when used in conjunction with CLRCs latest Settlements Report.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking public comment on an interpretive statement published April 15, concluding that releases of pollutants to groundwater are categorically excluded from Clean Water Acts permitting requirements because Congress explicitly left regulation of discharges to groundwater to the states and to EPA under other statutory authorities. The full interpretive statement is online click here. EPA had requested comment on the issue previously; 勛圖窪蹋厙 solicited input from member and submitted comments challenging EPAs consideration of using the CWA permit program to regulate discharges to groundwater eventually making their way to a jurisdictional surface water. 勛圖窪蹋厙 strongly maintains that the CWAs point source program does not regulate releases that reach Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) via groundwater.
The U.S. Department of Labors (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recently issued a new opinion letter clarifying the DOLs position on designating and taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The opinion letter provides that an employer is prohibited from delaying the designation of FMLA-qualifying leave as FMLA leave, even if the employee would prefer it be delayed, and must notify the employee of the FMLA status of the employees leave within five days of the employer obtaining enough information to make the determination. The DOL also found that an employer may not permit employees to expand their FMLA leave beyond the statutory 12-week entitlement (or 26-week entitlement, in the case of military caregiver leave).
May 2, 2019 - 2:00pm to 3:00pm ET
勛圖窪蹋厙 of Americas Union Contractors Committee held two sessions during the associations 100th Annual Convention in Denver, CO. At an open meeting of the Union Contractors Steering Committee on April 3, participants received updates from committee leaders and staff and conducted a roundtable discussion on matters of concern to union contractors and their 勛圖窪蹋厙 chapters. The committee also set the following dates for 2019 Union Contractors Conference Calls: June 11, September 10, and November 19. Each call will begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time and is open to all interested 勛圖窪蹋厙 members and chapter staff.