Author: agcnews

Construction employment declined by 61,000 in February, while the sector’s unemployment rate soared to 9.6 percent amid severe winter weather and continuing weakness in new nonresidential projects, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released today. Association officials urged Congress and the Biden administration to focus on new infrastructure funding, address rising materials prices and avoid disruptive measures like the PRO Act to stem further construction job losses. “The steep decline in construction employment in February continues a downward trend in nonresidential activity that began before the disruptions caused by last month’s freezes…

Democratic leadership introduced an updated version of the “Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for Our Nation’s” (CLEAN) Future Act, that sets a goal to cut national greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 and net zero by 2050. The massive bill authorizes $565 billion over a decade, an increase from the $316 billion proposed in last year’s version of the bill, to meet the goals. A substantial amount of the proposed funding is designated for utility infrastructure, particularly energy, water, climate resiliency and environmental justice related sectors. The bill also includes a substantial number of new requirements for some new programs,…

The Senate is currently considering the latest COVID relief bill, which includes a new round of multiemployer pension relief. The bill would create a Special Financial Assistance Program for struggling multiemployer pension plans. Under the Special Financial Assistance Program eligible plans include critical and declining plans, some critical plans and a few endangered plans would receive a one-time lump sum payment that is equal to the amount of funding needed to pay benefits through 2051 (30 years). The proposal does not include any concept of repayment for this assistance. Starting in 2031 the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation premiums would be…

In response to a directive from President Biden, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance to state unemployment insurance agencies that expands the number of instances in which workers may be eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). These newly eligible workers self-certify that they refused to work or accept an offer of work at a worksite not in compliance with coronavirus health and safety standards, with states being responsible for investigating and accepting or denying claims. The new guidance expands eligibility to three categories of workers: The Unemployment Insurance Program is a federal/state partnership. PUA is 100 percent federally funded and…

The COVID-relief bill moving through Congress does not include a federal paid leave mandate. However, it does include an extension of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) refundable tax credits from March 31, 2021 through September 30, 2021 for those employers that follow those expired mandates. Additional information and guidance on FFCRA and the tax credits can be found on the Department of Labor website and Internal Revenue Service website. However, the tax credits included in the COVID-relief bill would also increase the amount of wages for which an employer may claim the paid family credit in a year from $10,000 to $12,000 per…

On February 27, the U.S. House passed President Biden’s $1.9T COVID-relief bill by a 219-212 vote, mostly along party lines. The measure is now soon to be considered by the Senate. On the infrastructure front, the package would provide: $30 billion to public transit programs, $8 billion to airports and $1.5 billion to Amtrak. The vast majority of those funds would go to maintaining existing operations, not capital construction. The measure would also provide $350 billion for state and local governments. The state and local funding would be distributed as follows: While some have pointed to this funding as a means of…

ConsensusDocs is pleased to announce that Fox Rothschild LLP has joined as a contributor to the ConsensusDocs Construction Law Newsletter, which is one of the mostly widely distributed and used construction law resources in the industry. “We are thrilled to be able to bring timely, relevant news to contractors, specialty contractors and construction insurance professionals through this leading industry newsletter,” said Dirk D. Haire, co-chair of the nationwide Construction Law Group at Fox Rothschild LLP. Fox Rothschild is home to one of the deepest Construction Law Practice Groups in the United States. With offices in major construction hubs nationwide, Fox’s…

The Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act bill now making its way through Congress attempts to overturn decades of federal policy. Despite its name, the PRO Act does much more than protect an employee’s right to organize and engage in collective bargaining. In fact, the PRO Act would expand the economic weapons available to unions at the bargaining table, at the workplace, and beyond. While the union-favoring legislation presents obvious concerns for open-shop contractors, union contractors may not realize the detrimental impact it could have on them. AGC’s CEO Stephen Sandherr explains on this episode exactly HOW and WHY…

The construction industry is raising awareness and encouraging open discussion about mental health and substance abuse to reduce suicide in the workforce.  The COVID-19 pandemic has added stress, anxiety, and fear to contractors’ already high risk of suicide.  We can all agree this is a scary subject and we need to address the public health crisis in our country.  But how do we heal our workforce?  Please use the following resources to help you spot warning signs, start the conversation, and provide support to those who need it – which can save lives. It takes construction professionals at all levels working together…

The U.S. Department of Interior has proposed to delay the effective date of the Trump Administration’s final rule to decriminalize incidental take (accidental harm) under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) finalized in January. AGC supports the Trump Administration’s rule as it provides clarity and relief for industry and private citizens from prosecution for engaging in lawful actions that may result in the accidental injuring or killing of a migratory bird. The Biden Administration nominee for Interior, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), is publicly against the rule. Furthermore, the Biden Administration is reconsidering the government’s appeal of a decision last year…