Author: agcnews
On February 2, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm the nomination of Pete Buttigieg to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) by an 86-13 vote. Buttigieg officially took the helm of the Department upon his swearing in by Vice President Kamala Harris on February 3. During his January 21 hearing, he affirmed his commitment to the Biden Administration’s plans to prioritize rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. Ahead of the hearing, AGC stated its support for Buttigieg’s confirmation and called on the committee to expeditiously advance his nomination. AGC looks forward to working with Secretary Buttigieg to address the vital…
President Biden’s “Modernizing Regulatory Review” memorandum may end up being one of the most consequential and yet underreported changes to the regulatory process. However—as AGC has reported throughout the Biden Administration—many of these orders by and large do not have immediate practical impacts and will take many months and even years before many of these orders become more detailed, final regulations. The Biden memorandum attempts to modify the regulatory cost-benefit analysis, where significant regulations must demonstrate that the benefits justify the costs. On its face the memo recommends that certain, hard to quantify, benefits begin to factor into the regulatory review process.…
The Associated General Contractors of America’s chief executive officer, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the introduction in Congress today of the so-called “PRO Act”: “The PRO Act is anti-worker, anti-privacy and anti-recovery. The measure threatens workers’ absolute right to a free, fair and secret union ballot. There is something fundamentally un-American about subjecting workers to intimidation and coercion when it comes to deciding whether and how to organize and seek representation at the workplace. “By allowing secondary boycotts and other actions against firms that are not directly involved in labor disputes, the measure means many…
Construction employment decreased from December 2019 to December 2020 in more than half of the nation’s metro areas despite a surge in homebuilding and remodeling, according to an analysis of new government data that the Associated General Contractors of America released today. Association officials said large numbers of contractors are having to lay off workers once they complete projects that began before the pandemic because private owners and public agencies are hesitant to commit to new construction. “A dearth of new construction work is forcing more and more contractors to lay off employees once they complete projects started before the…
On Jan. 29, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued new guidance on protecting workers and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. Per OSHA, the guidance is not a standard or regulation, creates no new legal obligations and the recommendations are advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist employers in recognizing and abating hazards in the workplace. Click here to access an analysis from AGC of America highlighting the key differences in the recent guidance in comparison to previous guidance issued. If you have any questions regarding the new guidance, please contact Kevin Cannon (kevin.cannon@agc.org)…
Construction-industry collective bargaining negotiations completed in 2020 resulted in an average first-year increase in wages and fringe benefits of $1.63 or 2.8 percent, according to the annual year-end Settlements Report recently released by the AGC-supported Construction Labor Research Council (“CLRC”). This is slightly down from raises negotiated in 2019, when the average first-year increase negotiated was $1.67 or 2.9 percent, and it marks the first decline in the size of increases negotiated since 2011. However, CLRC notes, the average dollar-amount increase negotiated in 2020 remains more than double the amount negotiated in 2011. The report includes a special COVID-19 Impact on First…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will host two information sessions in February on the 2021 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants. EPA anticipates awarding approximately $46 million in DERA funding and is soliciting applications nationwide for projects that achieve significant reductions in diesel emissions. The request for applications (RFA) closes on March 16, 2021 (applications due). Click here to read more about the program. Funding Opportunity Information SessionsWednesday, February 3, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. (ET)Thursday, February 11, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. (ET) Webinar links and dial-in information for the sessions can be found at: www.epa.gov/dera/national#rfa. For more information, contact Melinda Tomaino…
On January 25, President Biden issued a “Made in America” executive order (EO) that seeks to strengthen Buy America and Buy American laws. Some aspects of the EO are similar to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Rule issued under President Trump, which increases the domestic contents for construction materials. Among other things, this EO calls for greater scrutiny for Buy America(n) waivers issued by federal agencies, creates a public website listing the proposed waivers and their statuses, calls for a Federal Acquisition Regulations rule to amend Buy American to replace the “component test,” and directs agencies to review and make recommendations on existing Buy…
President Biden’s “Executive Order (EO) on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” contained a brief provision focused on the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wages. In addition to reminding agencies involved of their legal obligations to apply and enforce existing Davis-Bacon requirements, the EO also ordered the Secretary of Labor to update prevailing wage requirements. There has yet to be any concrete indication of when Marty Walsh, the nominee to be the Secretary of Labor, might be confirmed and any efforts ordered upon him will have to wait until he is confirmed and in place at the DOL. AGC…
On January 20, President Biden released a legislative proposal to reform the nation’s immigration system. The proposal is separate from presidential actions halting construction of the southern border wall or preserving and fortifying Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). The DACA program had been under considerable attack from the Trump Administration and in the courts. The EO attempts to provide greater certainty while Congress makes permanent changes. The other important program to the construction industry, Temporary Protective Status (TPS) program, is in less urgent need of executive action as it was previously extended through October 4, 2021 by the Trump Administration. There are more than…