Jenny Grounds, BOUDREAUXThe idea of performing market research can often feel like a burden for small marketing groups. The everyday tasks already on your to-do list can easily fill up a 40-hour work week. Where do you find the time to research, compile, and analyze piles of data on top of everything else? Market research doesnt have to be complex or require robust, expensive studies to be effective. By breaking it into small, manageable pieces, you can gather information that will directly benefit your A/E/C firm without overtasking your teams.
On November 30, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) appealed a Texas judges decision to toss out an Obama administration rule that would have nearly doubled the Fair Labor Standards Acts (FLSA) salary threshold for exemption from overtime pay. The Trump administration DOL is defending its authority to create an overtime rule, but not the salary limit set by the Obama administration. The agency filed its notice to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and once docketed, the agency through the Department of Justice will file a motion to hold the appeal in abeyance while the DOL undertakes further rulemaking to determine what the salary level should be.
Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations settled so far this year resulted in an average wage-and-benefit increase of 2.6 percent or $1.44, according to the latest Settlements Report issued by the 勛圖窪蹋厙-supported Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC). Settlements reported between January and September 2017 resulted in an average first-year wage-and-benefit increase of 2.8 percent or $1.62. For newly negotiated multiyear agreements, the average second-year increase was 2.9 percent or $1.69. Settlements this year maintain an upward trend that has continued since 2011.
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce recently approved the Save Local Business Act, which would clarify that two or more employers must have actual, direct, and immediate control over employees to be considered joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The changes are significant and have the potential to disrupt the long-standing standards in labor law and the well-settled subcontracting practices in the construction industry. Due to the significance of the changes, 勛圖窪蹋厙 delivered a letter to Congress in advance of the committee action encouraging support of the legislation.
Represents Construction Industry before White House, DOL & DOT
Ida Cheinman, Substance151Its time that professional services firms faced a couple of hard truths: First, no one wants to subscribe to an e-newsletter, and second, a single email is not going to make the phones ring.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) now has a full complement of five members with a Republican majority for the first time in roughly a decade. This follows from the September 27 swearing in of Republican William J. Emanuel as a Board member for a term ending on August 27, 2021. Emanuel is the second Trump nominee to join the Board, following Republican Marvin E. Kaplans swearing in on August 10 for a term ending on August 27, 2020.
On September 25, 勛圖窪蹋厙 submitted comments to the U. S. Department of Labors (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) in response to a Request for Information (RFI) on the 2016 changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime regulations. In line with 勛圖窪蹋厙s regulatory recommendations, this RFI is the first step the DOL is undertaking to revisit the overtime rule that dramatically increased the salary threshold for exempt employees. 勛圖窪蹋厙 and its members were concerned that imposing such a large and immediate increase might result in unintended consequences, particularly for small construction companies, construction employers in lowerwage regions, and construction personnel.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has announced that the agency will support Hurricane Harvey and Irma relief efforts in a number of ways, including by relaxing federal contractors requirements on a temporary basis. As part of the initiative, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) will be temporarily suspending certain requirements on federal contractors to allow businesses involved in hurricane relief the ability to prioritize recovery efforts.
A U.S. Department of Labor administrative law judge (ALJ) has held that the employer, not the workers, primarily benefited from lodging used by itinerant workers hired to work on a federal dredging project away from their home communities. As a result, the employer was required under the Davis-Bacon Act to cover the full cost of the employees lodging expenses.